FAQs

How much does it cost to send message or media files on Ayoba?

Ayoba uses your phone’s Internet connection (4G/3G/2G/EDGE or Wi-Fie) to send and receive messages to your friends and family. The cost of the data used to send and receive messages will depend on the subscription you have with your service provider. You should also ensure that you haven’t exceeded your data limit. Alternatively, you can also use Ayoba while you’re connected to a Wi-Fi network, which may be free.

Ayoba has partnered with MTN, Africa’s largest mobile operator, to provide free* Ayoba data for MTN customers (subject to fair usage policies). This means that MTN customers will be able to send and receive text messages, audio, video, images and files within the Ayoba app without incurring any additional data costs.

*During the promotional period

How much does it cost to make voice calls using Ayoba?

You can make voice calls from the Ayoba app to any of your Ayoba contacts. The call will be charged as a standard voice call and uses your available airtime or minutes available. Importantly, making a call within the app does not use data and is not free.

Do I need to have the Ayoba app to send and receive messages from friends and family who are using Ayoba?

Ayoba works best when you’re communicating with someone else who also has Ayoba on their phone. That said, we have made a special effort to be inclusive of everyone, and unlike other messaging apps, you can chat to anyone regardless of whether they have the Ayoba app or not.

Messages sent via Ayoba to your contacts who don’t have the Ayoba app, will be delivered to your contact(s) as SMS text messages, and will include links to view images or files in their browser.

In most countries, our partnership with MTN means that if your contact is an MTN subscriber, they can respond to your message using SMS and you will receive that response seamlessly in your Ayoba app. Our partnership with MTN also means that all of these SMS replies will be free to send.

However, if your contact is not an MTN subscriber, they will still be able to receive your messages from Ayoba via SMS text, but will not be able to reply to the message received . They will be informed of this limitation. The best solution at this time is for your contact to download the Ayoba app.

What does it cost if I don’t have the Ayoba App on my device?

If you’re an MTN user and you don’t have the Ayoba app on your phone you can still reply to SMS text message received from an Ayoba user and your SMS response will be free.

If you are a non-MTN user you will receive Ayoba messages via SMS text but you will not be able to respond. Enjoy the full Ayoba experience by downloading the app from the Play Store or at ayoba.me/download.

Zero-rated data is provided for a promotional period and fair usage policies may apply.

If you are an MTN user you can download Ayoba for free, right now at ayoba.me/download. Or you can visit the Google Play Store.