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It's been dubbed useless, pointless and boring, but Yo is coming fighting back at these criticisms with a range of new features.

In its biggest refresh to date, Yo has added hashtags, links, profile pictures and an index that helps people manage and customise their notifications.

The updates are available now for the iOS and Android apps.

In its biggest refresh to date, Yo has added hashtags, links, profile pictures and an index that helps people manage and customise their notifications. Using the Yo Link feature, (pictured) users can now attach a link to by pressing and holding a username. The link sent is the last URL to be copied to the device's clipboard

It is a significant step away from what made the app so popular after its launch in April, and what recently secured the app $1.5 million (£890,000) in seed funding at a $10 million (£6 million) valuation.

At launch, the app only let users send the word 'Yo' to friends.

With the new Edit Profile tool, users can choose to show their name and photo, and this photo can be viewed by swiping right on a username.

Using the Yo Link feature, users can now attach a link to Yos by pressing and holding a username.

The link sent is the last URL to be copied to the device's clipboard, and a status bar reveals when the link has been sent.

To use hashtags, add the tag in the same way as a new contact, using the plus button at the bottom of the screen.

Clicking the hashtag in the list sends that tag to Yo, rather than another user.

Swiping right on a hashtag reveals how popular that tag is, and how many times its been Yo'd. 

A list of trending hashtags is also available from the Yo site.

Elsewhere, the Yo Index lets users see what notification alerts they can subscribe to, from other websites and services.

The Yo Index (pictured left) lets users see what notification alerts they can subscribe to. Users can also add and customise their own alerts. To use hashtags, (pictured right) add the tag in the same way as a new contact, using the plus button at the bottom of the screen. Swipe right to see how many times it's been Yo'd

A list of trending hashtags (pictured) is also available from the Yo site. The number on the right-hand side reveals how many times that hashtag has been Yo'd

For example, during the World Cup users could ask to be Yo'd when a goal was scored. 

Other examples include being notified when a friend posts an Instagram photo, or when a user is sent a personal message on Twitter.

Users can also add and customise their own alerts.

Yo's founder Or Arbel wrote: 'We are very excited about our new release of the Yo app.

'We hope this will help you and users everywhere communicate more with the things they care about.

'This version shows the real power of the Yo platform which is, at its most basic, a two-way communication platform between people, websites, brands, businesses and virtually anything that can connect to the internet.

'The app core functionality and simple interface hasn't changed. We work hard to keep it simple, and we take into consideration a whole lot of factors before adding any complexity into the app.'