Telefonica takes down Tu Me, pushes Tu Go

Telefónica Digital, the innovation arm of the Spanish incumbent telco, has called time on its rich communication prototype, Tu Me, in favour of a version that is not bound to smartphones.

Tu Me, born out of the acquisition of JahJah, made its debut in 2012 as a first look at RCSe (rich communications services) expected to be realised in the operator OTT play, Joyn. It was rolled out on O2, Movistar and Vivo branded networks as a first retort to the third party messaging apps like WhatsApp, Skype and Viber that are threatening operator business models.

But as of September 8, the app is being discontinued and all user data will be deleted. Instead, users are being pushed onto Tu Go, which extends the same functionality to non-smartphone devices including iOS and Android tablets and Windows-based PCs, allowing you to make  an receive calls and text messages and access voicemail on any device. Eventually the same service will be available to non-Telefónica customers as well.

In a sense, Tu Me goes up against the GSMA-backed Joyn initiative which is focused on trying to enrich the mobile experience. Telefónica is a supporter of Joyn and has launched the service in Spain but in other markets, Tu Go is the primary RCS-based offering. So it remains to be seen how both services will play out in the future.