Kim Dotcom has announced that his company Mega will launch a secure, fully encrypted video call service soon, reports VentureBeat.
The maverick and entrepeneur tweeted the news only hours ago, taking a dig at Microsoft-owned video chat service Skype:
Mega will soon release a fully encrypted and browser based video call & chat service including high-speed file transfers. Bye bye Skype 🙂
— Kim Dotcom (@KimDotcom) December 29, 2014
The inclusion of high-speed file transfers comes as no surprise. Dotcom rose to fame through file-sharing – first with the controversial MegaUpload, which was shut down, and now with Mega.
Currently based in New Zealand, Dotcom believes that US-based services are unable to offer their customers privacy and security, as they are forced to comply with government and intelligence agencies who demand access to user data.
No US based online service provider can be trusted with your data. Skype has no choice. They must provide the US Government with backdoors.
— Kim Dotcom (@KimDotcom) December 29, 2014
He first hinted at expanding Mega’s services to include email, chat, video and more back in February last year. You can see the app in action in the video below, being used by Edward Snowden and Julian Assange to address a rally in Auckland this September.
We’ll have to wait and see how and when MegaChat rolls out. If the service is to take on the likes of Skype, it’ll probably have to offer a free tier to make it easy for users to switch over and try it out.
If it works as promised and catches on, the implications of this browser-based encrypted service could be huge, as more folks are becoming wary of being spied on while they message, mail and talk to others online.
Update: Dotcom has said that he will share invites to MegaChat’s beta program ‘in the coming weeks’ via Twitter. We’ll be sure to keep an eye out for those.
I will tweet about beta invites to #MegaChat in the coming weeks. This is going to be THE END of NSA mass surveillance & YOU WILL LOVE IT!
— Kim Dotcom (@KimDotcom) December 29, 2014
