How can the Internet become more affordable for everyone one day? Well, Facebook has just acquired Onavo, a mobile analytics company to help use data more efficiently and make that dream possible. Onavo, is an Israeli-based startup that will greatly aide Facebook’s internet.org inititiative, to help bring the Internet to those without. Facebook is set to acquire both Onavo’s talent and technology, and its Tel Aviv headquarters marking the first Facebook office in Israel.
Onavo was founded in 2010 as a mobile analytics app and measurement company for marketers, with a specialization in data management and compression. Onavo’s offerings include apps like “Count,” which monitor the amount of data you use on your smartphone, along with “Extend,” which compresses the information downloaded by your phone.
Onavo’s Count App
Mark Zuckerberg said we need to reduce our data usage to help reduce the cost of the Internet, to make it more affordable for everyone. This acquisition today is a big step in that direction.
“Our service helps people save money through more efficient use of data, and also helps developers, large and small, design better experiences for people,” Onavo co-founders Guy Rosen and Roi Tiger said in a company blog post. “As you know, Facebook and other mobile technology leaders recently launched Internet.org, formalizing Facebook’s commitment to improving access to the internet for the next 5 billion people — this is a challenge we’re also passionate about. We’re excited to join their team, and hope to play a critical role in reaching one of Internet.org’s most significant goals – using data more efficiently, so that more people around the world can connect and share.”
“Onavo will be an exciting addition to Facebook,” a Facebook spokesman told AllThingsD. “We expect Onavo’s data compression technology to play a central role in our mission to connect more people to the Internet, and their analytic tools will help us provide better, more efficient mobile products.”
Onavo could also help convince advertisers to spend more money on Facebook with its “Insights” product that helps app makers determine the effectiveness of their mobile campaigns. If you are currently an Onavo user, don’t worry, Facebook intends to keep the Onavo brand intact, while the apps continue to remain available for the iOS and Android.
