Yesterday at a press conference, Yahoo launched a new Livetext messaging app. The company wants users to use the Yahoo Livetext messaging app with no audio for quick sessions just like normal texting, but with the emotions conveyed by seeing the face of a person.

The muted audio will let users use the app anywhere — on a noisy street, in a meeting, during class or on a train.
Arjun Sethi, a senior director of product management at Yahoo and head of the Yahoo Livetext messaging app project, said “It’s a new way to communicate: casual text on top of video.”

Livetext app is different from other messaging app based on the technology developed by MessageMe, a startup that Yahoo acquired last year. It has combined elements of video chats with the disappearing nature of Snapchat messages. The video is not saved on the device or by Yahoo and also the text will disappear once the users end chat session.

Adam Cahan, Yahoo’s SVP of video, design and emerging products, said:

“Audio is that sensory input that actually makes everything public. All of us hear what you are saying and listening to in that context. It’s frankly what inhibits that conversation.”

The developers of the Yahoo Livetext messaging app said that they will soon add new features, like group messaging and find native ways to monetize the app.

Arju Sethi also said “The way we think about any advertising opportunities is that it has to be native and in-context to the application. So right now we’re just focused on growth.”

Yahoo Livetext messaging app with no audio has been tested out in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Ireland, and will roll out today for users in the UK, France, Germany, the U.S. and Canada. The app will be available for free for both iOS and Android apps and can be downloaded today.