Rakuten Viber, the largest communications app in the region, is taking action to support Ukrainian communities, the company announced Wednesday.
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The initiatives Viber has rolled out include a program for free Viber Out calls, in which users can reach any phone number, landline, or mobile, in 34 countries around the world. These calls can also be made throughout internet disruptions and outages when calling through Viber's regular service might prove to be difficult.
Rakuten Viber has also launched four Viber Channels in the countries with the largest influx of refugees: Poland, Romania, Hungary, and Slovakia. These channels have been opened to share critical information on registration, residence, shelter, first aid, and more, all in Ukrainian. Over 23,000 members have joined in under 18 hours.
Rakuten Viber has also put out a call to raise donations for the Ukrainian Red Cross, and disabled advertising in Ukraine and Russia to ensure that no one profits from activity on its app during the war.
The company has also stressed that it will not share any user information with any government, and says that all private and group messages and calls on Viber are fully encrypted.
