KOCHI: With schools shifting to online platforms, children find themselves spending more time on their mobile phones and laptops. However, unlike his peers who resort to gaming and social media after online classes, 12-year-old Dheeraj Sivakumar is busy developing applicationsFond of coding, the Thrikkannapuram native turned his monotonous life during the lockdown to explore his interests.

“I had come across several stories on people developing applications in the wake of the ban on Chinese apps. Although I considered developing an alternative application to TikTok, I realised that there were many such apps out there. As suggested by my father, I thought of developing an application similar to WhatsApp but with more user-friendly options,” said the Class VIII student of Chinmaya Vidyalaya School, Naruvamoodu.

With his pocket money, Dheeraj bought a computer. After several YouTube tutorials, he developed an app called ‘Call Chat Messenger’. The application is available in Google Play Store and has also received a patent from the Amazon App Store.“Upon using the app, we realised that it had all the features of a chatting app. I have requested many to download the app and provide feedback. Many are amazed that a 12-year-old has designed such an app,” said Sivakumar P, Dheeraj’s father.

Features of the app
The ‘Call Chat Messenger’ permits both voice and video call. It also has a wide array of stickers like its rival apps. “The app facilitates video and voice calls even with the slowest internet speed. Files of size up to 1GB can be compressed and sent without affecting the quality of the images or videos. This feature is not available on WhatsApp,” said Dheeraj.

While WhatsApp limits the number of members to 240, there is no limit in the number of group members in Call Chat Messenger. Another advantage is that messages comprising viruses won’t be available to its users.  The Call Chat Messenger currently has 30,000 users including those from France and Bangladesh. Dheeraj’s classmates and teachers also use the app for daily communication. He is currently working on adding more features in Call Chat Messenger.