Product (3)

Fintech continues to reshape how people manage, move, and grow their money, driven by changing consumer expectations and rapid advances in digital infrastructure. If you're looking to build a fintech application, now is the time to define your niche, plan your features, and take advantage of APIs that accelerate development. In this guide, we outline

No matter where you are in the world, you can use devices and software that enable real-time communication. It feels so easy and simple! Yet how these messages are exchanged is a bit more complex than hitting the send button. Relaying messages from one part of the world to another is possible in part thanks

But, there are three major unexpected costs of choosing to shoulder the entire engineering process in-house. If your team is weary of integrating out-of-the-box components, learn what it's costing you below. 1. Competitive Advantage An average of 1,042 new apps are added to the Apple app store and over 3,000 to the Google Play store

As of 2025, there are over 30,000 fintech startup companies globally, compared to just over 12,000 startups in 2018. The fintech market is expected to reach nearly $700 billion by 2030. In this saturated market, it can be challenging to stand out. The features you add to your app can help, but you have to

Many sites are still using outdated communication channels like phone or email. But consumers want a live chat option. According to a report by Kayako, many consumers would spend as much as $500 extra per month with companies that provide easy live chat experiences. And in the same report, consumers said they would more likely

In 2022 the install-to-purchase conversion rate for non-gaming apps was 5.5%, while for gaming apps, it was just 2.6%. What counts as a conversion will vary depending on your app's functionality. But in general, in-app conversions are events or actions a user takes in the app, such as completing a purchase, upgrading their account, or

But as the video calling app market becomes more saturated, knowledge is power. Keeping conversations private and data safe and secure is top of mind for most users. Knowing the risks of unsafe video calling, the best security features to look for, and having a few trusted options to choose from can help you call

If you're currently struggling with hosting virtual classes for students, you're not alone. Many teachers and students are frustrated with online learning. In a McKinsey survey, 83% of U.S.-based teachers rated online learning a six or below out of 10 compared to real-life classes. Fifty-eight percent of teachers gave it a four or lower. However,

According to CB Insights 2021 State of Venture Report, venture capital investments reached a record high of more than $600 billion last year. And venture capital investors didn't just make more investments in 2021 than they did in 2020; they also gave each recipient more capital. But not every industry received equal funding. Financial technology

Today, over 300 million people use dating apps, with about 20 million of those people paying for premium features. But how do you grab a slice of this competitive and fast-growing market that is set to reach over $8.4 billion in annual revenue by 2024? The key is differentiating your app from what's currently on

A lot of dating apps on the market, like Tinder or Hinge, are too general and casual for serious singles to be able to find "The One." They don't appeal to a specific demographic, which makes it hard for people who know exactly what they want to make a meaningful connection. You can stand out

Delivery apps have taken the market by storm, with an expected revenue annual growth rate of over 8% and $291 billion USD in market volume by 2027. It's no surprise: they're convenient, save time, and are easy to use. With a few clicks, a delivery app can get your favorite dish or latest fashion delivered directly

What is a Live Streaming App? A live stream is multi-media digital content broadcasted by one host and transmitted to many viewers over the Internet in real-time. It can feature live events, like sports, news, a security camera feed, or on-demand content, like TV and movies. Video streaming complements social, gaming, telehealth, remote learning, online

What is HIPAA? The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996 protects patient privacy and provides easy access to their medical records. While medical appointments are typically held in person, the telehealth industry has boomed over the past few years. This has introduced patients' protected health information (PHI) to a new digital environment

The most important feature of an API is that it's highly available and reliable. Unfortunately, it's hard to see a company's track record when you make the purchasing decision. At Stream we put a ton of effort into infrastructure, monitoring, high availability and ensuring you have the highest possible uptime. Our infrastructure gracefully handles server

It's always been possible to build beautiful chat applications on desktop and web using Flutter and Stream Chat with our core or low-level client chat packages. But, users can now target desktop and web using our UI package, enabling you to get the complete Stream Chat experience regardless of platform. Version 5.0.0 has been overhauled

Video conferencing technology is essential to nearly every modern business, from managing remote teams to closing deals across time zones. There are several ways video and voice calls can form a stable connection, one being peer-to-peer (P2P). This real-time communication solution is a popular choice among users who prioritize security, bandwidth, and a lightweight architecture

Over the last few months, our React Native team has been making substantial improvements to the React Native Chat SDK. Among bug fixes and other minor changes, this release introduces two new features: offline support and enhanced debugging capabilities. Offline Support Offline support has been one of our most requested features, and we're thrilled to

To help you out, we've listed our top picks of the best APIs you can use to build the best online marketplace possible. These APIs will help improve your customer engagement and retention by optimizing the most critical aspects of your online marketplace, from the second the customer hops on your website to the checkout

It's a helpful pulse check on the growth of a product and trends in user behavior. And it gives insight into how many people check your product and the perceived value from the interaction. But keep in mind that not all apps should use DAU as a measure of success. This is because not all

Did you know that 71% of app users churn in the first ninety days after downloading an app? Keeping users engaged can be tough, especially when time is precious and users are impatient to resolve actions quickly. Yet, making the effort to include features for user engagement is important for retention. There are certain app

The combination of data and storytelling is a powerful one. Steve Jobs once said, "The most powerful person in the world is the storyteller. The storyteller sets the vision, values, and agenda of an entire generation that is to come." A user scenario is a tool to imagine a user's journey when using your app.

While the benefit of these standalone functionalities is clear, there are plenty of solutions working behind the scenes, like social preferences, geo-location, and usage history that enhance UX even more. An API can make these advancements possible and affordable for engineers to integrate with their app's infrastructure. In this article, we'll cover the most common

Research from Gartner predicts that by the end of 2022, 70% of customer interactions will involve technologies like chatbots and mobile messaging. It doesn't stop there. More and more companies are already adopting chatbots as part of their customer service experience. According to data from Mordor Intelligence, the chatbot market expects to grow 34% from

A north star metric is a company's primary metric to measure its app's success. Sean Ellis, entrepreneur and founder of GrowthHackers, was the first person to coin the term. "The North Star Metric is the single metric that best captures the core value that your product delivers to customers," says Ellis. "Optimizing your efforts to

As businesses strive to stay ahead of the competition, they often turn to data to inform their decisions. But not all metrics are created equal, and some can be more harmful than helpful. You've probably heard the term "vanity metric (metrics that don't uncover meaningful data about your app) and you're probably here because you don't know

Stream is excited to announce a new version of our React Native Chat SDK. This release makes it easy to add full video file/attachment support out of the box to your chat application without needing to go through a time-consuming SDK upgrade. Your end users can now upload, send, and play videos to make their

And user retention is low. Within a month of downloading an application, somewhere between 87% and 97% of its users will abandon it. The key to mitigating this high risk of churn? Meet the needs of the app's users. But when it comes time to make advancements to the app, not all users' needs should

However, too much churn could signify something wrong with your app experience. As Lincoln Murphy, founder of Sixteen Ventures, says: "Churn is a symptom of a deeper, underlying disease; that disease is a failure to ensure your customers achieve their Desired Outcome." Also, churn can be costly for your app. You spent a lot of

You worked hard to develop your mobile app and finally launched it on the iOS and Google Play stores. However, months after your app's release, you may notice a problem: customers aren't engaging with it. When facing this issue, an in-app marketing strategy can be an effective solution. This post explores in-app marketing strategies, their

Improving developers' lives is one of the primary goals at Stream-from our SDKs, tooling, and documentation, we always work with our community to build features developers love using. Today, we are excited to share a project we have been working on with the team at Firebase. Together, we created not one but three Firebase Extensions

Over the last few months, our Futter team has been hard at work making significant improvements to the Stream Chat Flutter SDK. This version is focused on improving the developer experience by giving you more control and flexibility in how you use our core components and UI widgets. For a detailed list of changes, including

Image Source: Unsplash A positioning statement explains briefly how your mobile app solves the needs of your target user and aligns your internal team on how to move forward. The statement sets the foundation for your marketing efforts and how you want the market to perceive your mobile app. A positioning statement must be an

Unsplash You could develop and release the best app in the world. But if you're not promoting and marketing your app to boost awareness, you're shooting yourself in the foot. Mobile acquisition is an integral part of managing a mobile app. Without any users, you don't have an app, so driving new users is essential

Image Source So you have an app, but it's not ready to go to market. You first need feedback from users to tell you what's working and what's not. And how do you do it? By soft-launching your app before going into a full release. A soft launch is a strategy that involves releasing a

We added some major improvements (and quality of life fixes) to our v5.0.1 update with a focus on the following items: Merging the ChatClient and ChatDomain classes, and adding a new OfflinePlugin class New image and name properties for Channel and User models Improved UI Components customization Stable Jetpack Compose UI Components We recommend migrating

What is a Virtual Marketplace? The instant access to customer reviews, the negotiable prices, and the extraordinary convenience of marketplace apps is enough to give the behemoth of e-commerce a run for its money. Unlike conventional e-commerce sites, the responsibility of maintaining inventory, shipping logistics, product images, descriptions, and pricing falls on the seller. The

From playing poker to going all-in on your favorite thoroughbred, online gambling sites enable people from around the world to place bets on traditional casino games, novel games, and sports teams alike. The online gambling industry is rapidly growing, and every year more players are logging in to strike it rich. Online gambling garnered $59B

But do we stick to them? While you likely know the answer to that question, you may not know the "why" behind it. Research shows that 43% of people give up only one month after setting a fitness-related goal, with the top reasons for this outcome centered around one common denominator: lack of accountability.

This major release comes packed with new feature sets, DX and UX improvements, UI customizations, and so much more. Keep reading for a brief summary of what's included in the update, or check out the "What's New in v4?" section of the documentation for a deeper look. Highlights New features, including Pin Messages, Slow Mode,

Image Source Over 66% of customers expect your company to fully understand their needs. The tricky thing is those needs will be completely different from user to user, since not all mobile app customers are the same. User segmentation can help you better understand those customers and serve their needs. It allows you to divide

Unity is one of the most popular gaming engines on the market, beloved by indie developers and AAA studios alike. The engine is largely considered beginner friendly with its robust documentation and streamlined user interface. However, designing a game from scratch can be quite an undertaking regardless of your level of experience. Inspired by Unity's

Image Source Getting new users to sign up for your app means nothing if you can't keep them engaged. You need users who will return to your app for more if you want long-term success. In fact, according to research from Localytics, 73% of mobile users will either delete an app or become inactive on

Fifty-one percent of apps are downloaded because of friends and family referrals. However, this marvelous marketing by word-of-mouth only works because users find value in engaging with your application. But driving user engagement can be tricky, especially with the unlimited app choices users have at their fingertips and a quarter of users abandoning an app

Thanks to their low barrier to entry, Unreal Engine and Unity are now two of the most popular choices beloved by indie studios and AAA game developers alike. The low-to-no pricing structure of these game engines managed to revolutionize the industry in a matter of years, convincing large publishers to abandon their old engines and

Image Source As Ralf Speth, CEO at Jaguar, says: "If you think good design is expensive, you should look at the cost of bad design." In all business decisions, failure to anticipate a customer's expectations can end in disaster. For example, do you remember New Coke? Tropicana's 2009 package redesign failure? Both were costly mistakes

Image Source Personalization has become the gold standard in ecommerce. According to research from Epsilon, 80% of customers feel more motivated to purchase from a brand if it offers a more personalized experience. Ecommerce personalization involves tailoring your messaging, content, and product recommendations based on your customers' feedback and behavior, such as their purchasing history

This new take on a traditionally isolating activity is made possible by the rise of chat solutions for video games. Not only do gamers love the sense of community and camaraderie that chatting with other players creates, but thanks to in-game chat, studios also enjoy the benefits of their users being more engaged, translating to

Image Source As a product manager, you'll have to deal with the dilemma of getting many feature requests from different departments on what needs to be in the roadmap. But the problem is, you won't be able to act on every request. So, to manage the long list of possible features, you'll need to prioritize

User interviews are an excellent approach to product discovery. Speaking to customers directly helps you collect valuable insights on their needs, so you can figure out whether your product ideas match their expectations. However, running compelling customer interviews involves more than just asking customers a couple of basic questions. It's essential you ask the right

With Stream's new Angular Chat SDK, developers can quickly build and integrate Stream's enterprise-grade chat into any application written in Angular. Our SDK is built from the ground up to seamlessly integrate and scale with your project. In just a few lines of code, developers can add real-time messaging to their application using familiar Angular

Stream's SwiftUI SDK gives iOS developers simplified access to all of Stream's in-app chat API features, making it even easier for teams to iterate on designs and achieve their goals while writing less code. You can integrate our SDK into any new or existing iOS application, complete with all the features necessary to build a

Now more than ever, gaming is a social experience: according to a recent study, some 77% of gamers in the US see gameplay as an opportunity to connect with friends and make new ones. In-game chat creates a sense of community and camaraderie among players that will keep them coming back for more and

Like many great startups, FanScout started by identifying a problem. For developer David Brear, this problem occurred during a weekend trip in New York City. Brear wanted to catch the Washington Capitals playing the New York Rangers in a sports bar, an important ice hockey game. But after visiting several bars, he couldn't find

Whether you're strategizing a plan of attack with your teammates or simply looking to catch up with old pals over a game, a user-friendly communications tool can exponentially improve your favorite pastime and be the perfect alternative to in-game chat. In this article, we'll cover the top ten best gaming chat apps that'll help you

Image Source And at the end goal of each habit, there is a reward. For example, when we drink our sip of coffee in the morning, we feel energized and ready to tackle our tasks for the day. Or, when we feel stressed, we might decide to meditate as a way to calm ourselves down.

Nearly every part of the travel industry has been transformed by mobile technology. Airline passengers arrive at their gate with tickets already on their phones. Taxis are summoned using ride-sharing apps such as Lyft or Uber, where passengers message their driver directly. Scannable QR codes provide access to museums, art exhibits, sporting events, and concerts.

Take the credit card, for example. Remember the progression from swiping to inserting your chip? Now, all it takes is a simple tap of your card (or your phone) to make an in-person purchase. All three iterations of the same product were striving towards one common goal: convenience. This guiding tenant has worked its way

Image Source Each year, thousands of startups launch products that they're convinced will change the world. However, few of them will find success; according to a report by Startup Genome, only 1 out of 12 startups succeed in the long run. As a product manager, a danger you must avoid is blindly falling in love

The modern consumer demands convenience. Last year, over two billion people completed their transactions online, with sales surpassing the $4.2 trillion mark. Enabling your customers to make in-app purchases and payments is no longer considered nice to have; it's expected. But with great UX comes great responsibility, and protecting cardholder data (CHD) should be at

Image Source Modern technology has fueled the success of telemedicine, which allows doctors to treat and diagnose their clients from home, even if they're thousands of miles away. Statista expects the telemedicine market to reach a whopping $459 billion by 2030. Telemedicine combines the use of online chat and video conferencing to make healthcare accessible

Building an exceptional SaaS product is just the first step to optimizing the user experience. For customers to get the most from your platform, you also need to provide them with quality support that leads to success. That's because your SaaS customer support has a significant influence over loyalty and retention. According to research by

Stream is excited to announce a new major version of our iOS Chat SDK. This release comes packed with performance improvements that will enhance the overall developer experience by providing more flexibility and control over customizations when incorporating chat and messaging functionalities into mobile applications. Specifically, this update will provide a more seamless SDK experience

Whether it be for business or pleasure, traveling can often feel lonely: Travelers are typically surrounded by other people, but making that first connection can be difficult. While waiting for a flight in a crowded airport, William Cooper, co-founder of the startup travel app Abord, noticed the potential for a platform that could initiate conversations

The role of a product manager is to identify user needs and prioritize features in the product that will meet those expectations. It's why companies that are recruiting will ask you design questions during PM interviews to test your ability to solve challenges, pitch a solution, and bring a product vision to life. The CIRCLES

During agile development (or Scrum), product owners manage all the tasks, processes, and workflows. They oversee each sprint and make sure that the developer team progresses toward turning the product vision into reality. The product owner is responsible for maximizing the productivity of the Scrum team. Their tasks include communicating the product goal to developers,

Camila Landivar says that her mom, Paula, has always had a magnetic personality. In her work as a fitness instructor, she's not only able to motivate people to do one more pushup, but also she inspires them to follow a more holistic and healthy lifestyle outside of the gym. That's why in early 2020, Camila

If you're in the startup world, you probably worship at the altar of product-market fit. It's the #1 obsession for many startup entrepreneurs who want to position their product for success. "In my view, product/market fit is the most important thing to get right as a startup," says Scott Cook, founder of Intuit. "There's a

Stream is proud to announce native support for app localization (l10n) and internationalization (i18on) across four of our flagship in-app chat SDKs, including React, React Native, Flutter, and Android (Kotlin, Java, & Jetpack Compose), with support for iOS app localization coming soon. Stream's chat API, SDKs, and UI kits make it easy for developers to

The best way to approach product development is not to pursue every feature someone proposes just because it seems like a good idea. Instead, the key is to focus on the features that will make the most significant impact on your goals. Impact mapping is a tool for product development teams to choose which features

Can you remember the last time you visited a brick-and-mortar bank? Neither can we. Chances are that the majority of your banking, stock trading, peer-to-peer payments, and cryptocurrency activity is now completed through an app or website. Financial technology, commonly known as fintech, is a booming industry that has already transformed how people around the

So you've designed and released a great mobile app. But your work isn't over; in fact, it's just beginning. The next step is to measure how well users respond to it and make continuous adjustments based on data for long-term success. To improve your mobile app and retain more users, you need to be measuring

When you walk into a brick-and-mortar retail store, chances are that a store employee will approach you to make a personal connection, and ask if you need help finding a specific item. This common retail practice opens the door for salespeople to connect with customers, answer questions about products, guide customers toward exactly what they

So your team of marketers, developers, and salespeople worked hard to launch your product, and you're starting to see the results. Your list of subscribers is exploding, you're bringing in new revenue, and users are upgrading their memberships. So far, so good, right? However, after looking at the long-term data, you realize there's a big

With so many products being developed every day, it's unlikely that new users will take the time to learn the ins-and-outs of each without any walk-throughs. User onboarding is the first impression you make on your users, and it helps them discover the value of your product quickly. A well-defined onboarding process helps users navigate

Dermatologists rely on visual assessment to diagnose and treat skin conditions, and since most patients have a phone with a camera in their pocket, telehealth tools that enable patients to capture and send images of skin lesions to their doctor seem like a no brainer. But to gauge the size, growth rate, and types of

Building a great product is no easy feat. From prototyping to planning out your roadmap, product managers will need to use different tools for each step of the way. Building a software product is like building your own canoe: if you don't have the right tools for each part of the process, you're sunk. Whether

For your product to be successful, you need to identify your users' needs at every stage of their journey. According to Salesforce, 76% of SaaS customers expect brands to have a well-rounded understanding of their needs and wants. For example, let's say you're running a workplace communication software company like Slack. The needs of your

The user's product journey consists of various stages. And if there's friction at any point, you might just lose your customer for good. That's where user stories come in. They're an essential element of the agile methodology and help you better understand the user's expectations by putting yourself in their shoes. To understand your users'

Stream Chat's newest backend SDK is now available, extending complete integration support to apps written in Java. This release brings the total number of backend frameworks with dedicated Stream Chat SDKs to seven (in addition to our REST API, which can be used to build unlimited custom integrations). Our SDK engineering teams are excited to

Building a product that retains users starts by understanding their needs. If not, you'll just have a product with plenty of fancy features but doesn't really solve the challenges of your user. How can product managers better understand the product experience from the user's perspective and build the right features that make an impact? The

It should be no surprise that some of the world's most popular apps contain an activity feed as their core functionality. This comprehensive guide is a crash course in activity feed types, activity feed benefits and best practices, and real-world activity feed examples and use cases. We'll also explore how you can quickly integrate a

Creating the best product for your audience consists of understanding each step of the user journey. That way, you can prioritize your work and releases effectively. User story mapping is an effective strategy to guide your team and understand users' needs throughout the product experience. In addition, it offers the possibility to better identify key

Today's digital world has gone global. App users expect the ability to communicate with those on the other side of the world as easily as they can with a local user. When they experience delays in real-time communication, it can hurt UX and negatively impact metrics like user engagement, satisfaction, and churn. Your app needs an

User stories help product teams of all sizes conceptualize the product experience and understand users' needs. On top of that, they also align teams on shared product goals and improve collaboration. However, agile product teams need to know how to write user stories correctly in order to get the most out of them. Creating compelling

Savvy hiring managers know that talent alone isn't enough to make a solid team. Rather, each employee's commitment to a unified effort is arguably more important than individual experience to reach business objectives. Such traits are cornerstone attributes that Olivia Ryan, software project and product lead for the Louisville, Kentucky-based development firm Slingshot looks for

Online dating in the United States is big business. An estimated 1,500 apps are available for download on Google Play and the Apple App Store, and studies suggest that by 2024, 53.3 million Americans will use internet dating services. Online dating options abound, with many apps supporting different interests, geographical locations, and religious values. But

Every PM knows that their success depends on developing products that align with users' expectations and needs. However, over 49% of product managers report struggling to validate whether or not the product they're building fits the needs of their market. That's why you need to get serious about collecting customer feedback if you want to

Telemedicine is booming, but it's not all smooth sailing. January 2023 saw a jump in telehealth use, up to 5.9% from 5.5% the month before. It sounds promising, but the industry faces hurdles behind the scenes: think regulatory red tape, tech headaches, and privacy worries. For providers and patients alike, navigating this evolving landscape is

What do Google and Microsoft have in common? They use the same framework to align their team, focus on their goals, and measure their progress: Objectives and Key Results (OKRs). Implementing OKRs can be a game-changer for your team's performance by turning abstract goals into measurable achievements and increasing alignment throughout your organization. What Are

Mobile app adoption is at an all-time high, with new app and game downloads reaching 137.8 billion in 2024. This translates to more than 262,000 apps downloaded per minute. But despite such impressive app downloads and usage metrics, the majority of apps struggle with retention rate, a key performance indicator tracking the percentage of

The more you understand your customer's user journey, the better you can tailor your product to fit their needs. However, that often feels easier said than done. Many product managers still use outdated single-list product backlogs (which are just to-do lists) that don't help PMs prioritize work according to what the customer wants. If you want to

In many social networking and dating applications, in-app chat and messaging functionality accompanies complex relationships between individual users. These apps need to support open-ended communications, like a friend request that may or may not be accepted or a dating match that may or may not spark a conversation. For software teams integrating a chat API

Businesses face unique challenges when it comes to scaling enterprise live chat. While building basic messaging functionality with just a couple hundred users may be relatively straightforward for nimble startups, as apps acquire thousands, hundreds of thousands, and even millions of users, live chat performance suffers without the right tech stack. Even minor performance issues

Human beings have told stories for almost as long as we've been able to communicate. They connect us, create shared narratives, share complex information, and build understanding between otherwise disparate groups. That's why storytelling is still one of the best ways to build empathy with other people. Stories are also a tool. They create a

Product managers have one of the most critical roles in a SaaS company, with a lot of weight on their shoulders. On top of keeping customers satisfied with their company's product, they'll also be in charge of cross-collaboration between different departments. Product managers therefore need various skills across different areas. It's vital for building a

Updating and building a product that customers will love can be a fulfilling experience. But all your hard work will go to waste if you have no clue how to promote your upcoming product to your target customer. That's why you must follow a product launch checklist to ensure you're not missing any essential steps

Today, we are incredibly excited to announce the beta release of Stream's Feeds SDK for Flutter . Stream's Activity Feed API was built by developers, for developers to make their lives easier by not having to worry about scalability, maintenance, and reliability of a complex feed infrastructure. By leveraging Stream's API or integrating our libraries

Productivity and getting tasks done in a timely matter are common issues among product managers. According to a report by Product Management Festival, product managers struggle with three things: achieving goals (56%), lack of time (50%), and lack of clarity in their role (35%). With an effective product experience management process, product managers can overcome

Dating app usage is at an all-time high. In 2019, half of Americans ages 18-29 and 38% ages 30-49 used a dating app at least once. To meet growing demand, over the past two decades dating app companies expanded from just a few early options, such as Match.com and eHarmony, to over 1,500 dating apps