Be warned, you'll be paying $60 all at once, not monthly! I love the app... But now that you have to pay to use almost all of the features has me using it less. Especially the fast forward and video react options. It would be much better for one solid price like $4.99 for the year rather than $60 that's insane.
Reviews for Marco Polo - Video Messenger
← Back to Marco Polo - Video MessengerSo, they changed your ability to edit their invitations! Hooray! But, I don't dare send one. Last time they sent repeatedly without warning. I'll see if I have a friend who wouldn't mind me checking that and then update my review. I get that they're trying to make money, but $5/ month. I pay for streaming channels that pay a fortune to display content that cost the same. 1 or 2$ per year, maybe. More than that, it's too steep.
What really SUCKS about Polo after the latest batch of updates is that you'll sometimes start recording a Polo and when you try to send it, it screws up and does NOT let you end the Polo and you basically lose the entire ten minutes of your life that you spent sending that message for nothing. It won't be received, it can't be retrieved, and now you're so frustrated you just leave the app. This is the worst possible bug you could hit us with, and it sucks so bad. I'm a Plus member as well.
Editing my review. Now, just about every single thing that used to be free is behind a paywall. You can't take notes, which used to be free to do. Send text, which used to be free. And limited to just sending polos, and you're stuck listening to them within the app since you can no longer multitask for free either. Overall, it's a decent app, but to really get the bulk of features, you have to subscribe.
Was a 5star then a 2, lowered because of the Plus "option". Now a 1 since even though I have not updated since the beginning of July my app automatically changed so that everything was taken away unless I pay. If you're thinking of downloading, don't. I've had the app for several years and now they take 90% of the things that I've had for free and make them subscription only. Of course I'll probably get a copy&pasted answer about how MarcoPolo 'is and will remain a "free" app'. This is NOT free.
It's been crashing, freezing, won't let me fast forward through messages anymore. Not sure what happened, but ever since the last update this app has been virtually useless. (Funny enough, my friend who pays for the Plus option has had no issues. Wonder if the free version is "broken" to make people upgrade?)
Was my family's (20+) favorite app for keeping up to date remotely, and a big way we would do that is by recording videos and photos in HD, and then uploading to marco polo. Now you must pay $5 per person to upload your own photos and videos to your group or direct chats. Ridiculous! And apparently you can't fast forward video anymore! Most appallingly, they rolled out the payment restricted services update in the middle of the worst pandemic in modern times, when people need to stay connected.
Works great for the most part. It needs to remember where you leave off on a video in case you get interrupted while watching. Currently, it doesn't do this. [UPDATE after two years of use] - I've been considering subscribing to Polo Plus but it doesn't mention an option to save videos. I've friends and family that may not be around much longer and I'd like to save some of those videos.
It's garbage now. This app was ok before, glitchy but it got the job done. It got us used to all the features, fast forward, emojis, saving, forwarding, etc. Then they come out with a pro version and take all that away?! That's ridiculous! And 60$ for a year?! My PlayStation membership doesn't even cost that much! Hell, almost every membership I have doesn't cost that much. Just a joke. What a disappointment. You do not need to charge for what we are used to! Charge us for new features.
I had this app for a few years and I absolutely loved it, no complaints. However, the issue I have is how easy it was for my account to get hacked into. The phone number was changed as well. It's been since the end of July I have not been able to gain access to my account... there was one day I got in and all my videos were completely gone. I was told to delete the app and try adding it again. When I did that, I never got a verification code sent to my email to get back in My Marco Polo.
MP is one of our favorite apps! We use it nearly every day to talk to friends and family. Unfortunately, after one of the more recent updates, the videos no longer keep track of where it leaves off. If there is an interruption, it starts completely over at the beginning. I also wish we could drag (fast forward/rewind) the video instead of the 5s & 10s button.
It's just so sad. I so appreciate all that this app has done to connect me with my long-distance family. It's totally understandable to introduce a new version with "bonus" apps that you might have to pay for, like filters, or text options, but to make the features we have used for free for years only usable with a fee is frustrating. Even having the option to watch an ad would have been nice. Using the fast forward & skip ahead features are basically essential for my busy life. Unrealistic
This app is great for staying in touch with limitless video messages, it also is really nice if you are in a place with no service; you can still record freely, and the messages will send when you reconnect. However, rather than ever making improvements to the app, they took all of the features from free version away and put them into the "Plus" version for which you have to pay. Again, there have been NO updates or improvements, it is just the same as we had before, but now it's sixty bucks.
The polo app itself is not bad. I appreciate the approach the developers take with locking down a lot of nice premium functions while still allowing basic functionality for free! One gripe I have is that it took me quite a while to figure out how to access the free version when I signed up. I realize developers' work needs to be paid for. However, if you're going to offer free access, don't make me waste an hour or two figuring out where the tiny button is on the correct screen to opt out.
Marco Polo is a unique app and the main way I communicate with my friends and family! It's easy to use and simple. A great blend between texting and facetiming. One downside is that a lot of features are locked behind a paywall, but with the free version it's still useful and fun to use. Older polos are also deleted if you use the free version, so history isn't available, but other than that I love to use this app.
Is there anyway the makers of this app could work to fix the audio? I've noticed when I send videos to family the audio is terrible on both ends. Also having the free verson where you could at least move through the video would be nice. not everyone can afford having the plus version. this feature would definitely bring more people in I'm just saying. Especially it it's free.
No option to turn off their incessant "it's been a while" notifications. if I wanted to use the app I'd open it, I don't need you begging me to open your app when I don't have something to send to anyone. Guess uninstalling is the only way to remove the notifications.... Developer responded: I did check the notifications settings, there was no option to disable unwanted notifications without turning off all notifications.
The paid features don't work on Android (this has been an issue across 3 phones so it's not just my phone). Customer service was unable to find a solution and was completely unhelpful. They won't offer a refund despite the fact that I've paid over $120 for a Plus membership for my friends and I. They also launched automatic AI transcription without clear notification (passive opt-in), which feels sketchy. Unfortunately I can't recommend this app.
It's a very fun, easy to use app. Video quality is usually great. But it has some real hiccups. If you get a phone call while making a video, that can completely derail your video. Also, for some reason, it only uses the native phone mic, not my bluetooth mic. which makes it hard to send videos with good audio quality.
I've had this app for over a year now. for the first few months, everything was fine but several months ago, my app must have updated and now I can only listen to videos with Bluetooth earbuds, but I cannot record a video with them and use the mic on the earbuds. It simply will not pick up that mic. my friend has the same issue. she is an apple user, I'm android. so it's not phone specific. would really love for this issue to be fixed. it's extremely inconvenient.