Now On Android As Well, Moped Could Be The Hot New Messaging Platform

Mike Butcher

Mike Butcher is the European Editor for TechCrunch. A former grunge rock drummer, he became a long time journalist, and has since written for UK national newspapers and magazines including The Financial Times, The Guardian, The Times, The Daily Telegraph and The New Statesman. Mike is also a co-founder and shareholder of TechHub, a co-working space/service/community with several locations... → Learn More

Thursday, July 26th, 2012
Screen Shot 2012-07-26 at 16.24.33

Moped is a private messaging platform that lets you send IM-like messages, but still with the useful hashtags and @s you find on Twitter. Users login via Twitter and message each other by @-ing recipient(s). It’s simpler than using an app like GroupMe for privately sharing in groups. It’s also integrated with Dropbox, so unlike other messaging or private sharing apps, users can share big files within their messages. A Chrome extension lets users to start conversations from a browser window.

Today they’ve released an Android app here, which now compliments their recently updated iOS app. What we have here is a brand new private messaging platform in the making. The Berlin-based startup recently closed a $1 million financing round with SV Angel (Ron Conway), Lerer Ventures, Betaworks and Earlybird Capital.

Contacts and conversations are synced across Moped apps, so if you have an iPhone at home, but use an Android when you travel, you don’t miss any conversations – the conversations you have on one device, show up on the other.

The chrome extension lets you easily share content on the web with anyone in Moped. All your contacts are loaded into the Chrome extension, so you don’t have to worry about remembering email addresses, or switching applications and copy/pasting a link.

Today, you need a Twitter account to sign up to Moped but that will soon change, with the ability to sign up without Twitter, opening up Moped for more users. Plus, new users signing up can now choose a username.

With Dropbox integration and a Google Chrome extension Moped is trying to cover all the bases from desktop to mobile.

Indeed, Moped could almost – I say almost – be an alternative to email.

Meanwhile another startup, Bonfire.IM is bringing private IM to Twitter – t’s also worth comparing with Moped.


Company: Moped
Website: moped.com
Funding: $1M

Moped is a free messaging application that lets users send messages from desktop and mobile, and integrates with a bunch of other web services like Dropbox, Foursquare, Chrome, IFTTT, Twitter and Facebook. Users direct messages to each other by @-mentioning the intended recipient(s). Users can also @-mention email addresses to reach users outside the Moped network. Moped is a web-based app, and is compatible with iPhone, Android and the most desktop web browsers.

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