Ablo vs Azar: What Happened After the Redirect?

When Ablo shut down on 30 September 2022, users opening the app saw a single message: "Ablo has been discontinued… please use Azar." For millions who had built friendships through translated text chats and globe-hopping flights, that redirect felt less like a suggestion and more like a forced move to a completely different world.

Ablo and Azar shared a corporate family tree but offered nearly opposite experiences. This side-by-side look at how each app worked, what users said about them, and who each one suited explains why the redirect sparked so much frustration.

How Ablo Worked: Text-First Travel

Ablo dressed itself as air travel. You tapped to take off, watched a paper plane cross a globe, and landed on one stranger in a random country. Every message was machine-translated both ways, with the original text a tap away. The core interaction was one-to-one text chat. Video calls existed but only after you had exchanged about 20 messages, and they came with live subtitles.

The app earned Google Play's Best App of 2019 and was later cited at 6.5 million downloads across 180 countries. Its audience was mostly 18 to 26 years old. Users earned miles by chatting. Friends and reconnecting were free. If nobody from a country was online, you might meet an AI local, always labelled as AI.

Users praised the translation as a genuine breakthrough. One Chinese reviewer wrote in 2021: "the translation is very accurate, much better than Baidu." Another English user called it "like a Travel Agency which don't charge anything." The flight concept, the destination trivia, the sense of travelling from your sofa — these were the brand.

How Azar Works: Video-First Encounters

Azar, made by Hyperconnect, is a video-first app. You swipe through live video feeds of strangers, and when you match, you are in a face-to-face call. Text chat exists but is secondary. The app uses filters and effects, and it has a much larger user base than Ablo ever did. Match Group bought Hyperconnect in 2021.

Azar's strength is immediacy. You see someone's face and reaction instantly. There is no waiting for messages to be translated or for a connection to build through text. For users who enjoy spontaneous video conversations, Azar delivers that directly.

However, reviewers called Azar "more sexual" and "not the same" as Ablo. The video-first format attracted a different crowd. Many women in Ablo's reviews had complained about unwanted explicit content on video calls, and Azar's format amplified that issue. One Turkish user after the redirect wrote: "biz aileydik" (we were a family), meaning Ablo felt like a community, while Azar felt transactional.

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	Ablo	Azar
Primary interaction	Text chat, then optional video	Video call first, text secondary
Translation	Built-in, both ways, original text visible	Available but less central
Matching	Random country, paper-plane animation	Swipe through live video feeds
Currency	Miles (earned, never bought)	In-app currency for filters and effects
Cost to chat	Free to start, paid extras for filters	Free to start, paid extras
Shutdown	30 September 2022	Still active
Parent company	Massive Media (Match Group)	Hyperconnect (Match Group)

User Reactions After the Redirect

Our analysis of Ablo's reviews shows that users rejected Azar almost unanimously. Most people learned about the shutdown only when login failed. There was no warning, no chat export, no contact list download. Friends of three years were lost because Ablo was the only channel they shared.

Reviews after September 2022 are filled with grief. One Spanish user wrote in December 2022: "La extraño" (I miss it), which became the most-upvoted line in the post-shutdown reviews with 1,140 helpful votes. Another user offered $1,000 to buy Ablo and keep it running.

The demand never died. Grief reviews ran from 2022 into August 2026. People were still searching for it: "4 yıldır herhangi bir güncelleme yapılmamış… silin kardeşim" (no update in 4 years… just delete it, brother).

Who Each App Suits

Ablo suited people who wanted to build friendships through conversation, not appearance. The text-first format let you learn about someone before seeing their face. The translation feature made it possible to talk to anyone, anywhere, without sharing a language. Language learners loved it: one Russian user said "my English improved very quickly." People during lockdowns called it a lifeline: "Ablo helped me out of depression."

Azar suits people who prefer video conversations and want to see someone's face immediately. It is faster, more spontaneous, and has a much larger active user base. If you enjoy swiping through live feeds and having quick video chats, Azar is designed for that.

But Azar does not replace what Ablo offered. The text-first, translation-heavy, travel-themed experience was unique. No other app combined those elements in the same way. Users who valued that specific combination were left with nowhere to go.

What Users Wished Existed

The most requested features in Ablo's reviews give a clear picture of what users wanted but never got: the ability to delete or unsend messages, choose a specific country, see online status, send voice messages, and earn coins through daily check-ins or ads. These were all absent from Ablo, and they remain absent from Azar.

The 2025 copycat app, published by Yancheng Binary Tree Technology, used the same name and pulled 100,000 installs with no real product behind it. Its rating sits at 2.2 stars. Users complained about paywalls after two or three messages, data errors, crashes, and bans with no reason given. It proved only that the search demand for Ablo's experience was still huge.

A Different Approach

If Ablo's text-first, translation-heavy, travel-themed chat is what you are looking for, there is an app that works in a browser with nothing to install. You tap to take off and fly to a random country. Messages are translated both ways, with the original a tap away. Miles are earned and never bought, and nothing you need to talk to someone costs money. Friends and reconnecting are free. If nobody from a country is online, you may meet an AI local, which is always labelled as AI. It is called Olu.