Services communication software Number of employees 50 | Products Wire Website wire.com Founded 2012 Formerly called Zeta Project Swiss GmbH | |
Founders Jonathan Christensen, Priidu Zilmer, Alan Duric Type of business Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung | ||
Wire Swiss GmbH is a software company headquartered in Zug, Switzerland. Its development center is in Berlin, Germany. The company is best known for its messaging application called Wire.
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The Wire app allows users to exchange end-to-end encrypted instant messages, as well as make voice and video calls. The software is available for the iOS, Android, OS X, Linux and Windows operating systems and WebRTC-compatible web browsers.
History
Wire Swiss GmbH was founded in Fall 2012 by Jonathan Christensen (CEO), Alan Duric (CTO) and Priidu Zilmer (head of design), who previously worked at Skype and Microsoft. Jonathan Christensen previously co-founded Camino Networks in 2005 with Alan Duric, who also co-founded Telio. Camino networks was later acquired by Skype, a division of Microsoft Corporation. At Skype, Jonathan was responsible for getting Skype into new platforms such as Internet televisions and set-top boxes while Priidu Zilmer, former head of design at Vdio, lead the Skype design team.
The company launched the Wire app on December 3, 2014. Shortly after its launch, the company retracted a claim from their website that the app's messages and conversation history could only be read by the conversation participants. In August 2015, the company added group calling to their app. From its launch until March 2016, Wire's messages were only encrypted between the client and the company's server. In March 2016, the company added end-to-end encryption for its messaging traffic, as well as a video calling feature. Wire Swiss GmbH released the source code of the Wire client applications under the GPLv3 license in July 2016. The company also published a number of restrictions that apply to users who have compiled their own applications. Among other things, they may not change the way the applications connect and interact with the company's centralized servers.
Features
Wire allows users to exchange text, voice, photo, video and music messages. The application also supports group messaging.
The app allows group calling with up to five participants. A stereo feature places participants in "virtual space" so that users can differentiate voice directionality. The application adapts to varying network conditions.
The application supports the exchange of animated GIFs up to 5MB through a media integration with a company called Giphy. The iOS and Android versions also include a sketch feature that allows users to draw a sketch into a conversation or over a photo. YouTube, Soundcloud, Spotify and Vimeo integrations allow users to share music and videos within chats.
Wire is available on mobile and web. The web service is called Wire for Web. Wire activity is synced on iOS, Android and web apps. The desktop version supports screen sharing.
Wire also includes a function for ephemeral messaging in 1:1 conversations.
Technical
Wire provides end-to-end encryption for its instant messages. Wire's instant messages are encrypted with Proteus, a protocol that Wire Swiss developed based on the Signal Protocol. Wire's voice calls are encrypted with DTLS and SRTP, and its video calls with RTP. In addition to this, client-server communication is protected by Transport Layer Security.
Business model
Wire Swiss GmbH receives financial backing from a firm called Iconical. According to an article published by Reuters, Wire Swiss has not disclosed how much funding it has received and has yet to discover a sustainable business model. In March 2016, Wire Executive Chairman Janus Friis told Bloomberg that the company will "never create an advertising-based business model", but "might charge for certain premium services in the future".