Messaging and VoIP service owned by Meta Platforms
WhatsApp Screenshot
Screenshot depicting WhatsApp's home screen in 2024.
Original author(s) Brian Acton , Jan Koum Developer(s) Meta Platforms , Will Cathcart (Head of WhatsApp)[1] [2] Initial release February 2009; 15 years ago (2009-02 ) iOS 24.6.77[3] / March 25, 2024; 3 months ago (March 25, 2024 ) Android 2.24.6.78[4] / March 25, 2024; 3 months ago (March 25, 2024 ) Windows 2.2411.4.0[5] / March 25, 2024; 3 months ago (March 25, 2024 ) macOS 2.24.5.76[6] / March 14, 2024; 3 months ago (March 14, 2024 )
Android (Beta ) 2.24.7.25[7] / March 29, 2024; 3 months ago (March 29, 2024 )
Written in Erlang [8] Operating system Android , iOS , iPadOS , KaiOS , macOS , Windows , Windows Phone , Wear OS , Web , Meta Quest (The latter two require one-time verification from the mobile app client.)Size 183.7 MB (iOS)[9]
48.02 MB (Android)[10] Available in 40 (iOS) and 60 (Android)[11] languages Type Instant messaging , VoIP License Proprietary software with EULA "European Region"[12] "others"[13] Website whatsapp .com
WhatsApp (officially WhatsApp Messenger ) is an instant messaging (IM) and voice-over-IP (VoIP) service owned by technology conglomerate Meta .[14] It allows users to send text , voice messages and video messages,[15] make voice and video calls, and share images, documents, user locations, and other content.[16] [17] WhatsApp's client application runs on mobile devices , and can be accessed from computers.[18] The service requires a cellular mobile telephone number to sign up.[19] In January 2018, WhatsApp released a standalone business app called WhatsApp Business which can communicate with the standard WhatsApp client.[20] [21]
The service was created by WhatsApp Inc. of Mountain View, California , which was acquired by Facebook in February 2014 for approximately US$ 19.3 billion.[22] [23] It became the world's most popular messaging application by 2015,[24] [25] and had more than 2 billion users worldwide by February 2020,[26] confirmed four years later by new 200M registrations per month.[27] By 2016, it had become the primary means of Internet communication in regions including Latin America , the Indian subcontinent , and large parts of Europe and Africa .[24]
^ Horwitz, Jeff (February 12, 2020). "As WhatsApp Tops 2 Billion Users, Its Boss Vows to Defend Encryption" . The Wall Street Journal . Archived from the original on March 17, 2020. Retrieved April 2, 2020 .
^ Cathcart, Will. "Why WhatsApp is pushing back on NSO Group hacking" . The Washington Post . Archived from the original on October 30, 2019. Retrieved October 30, 2019 .
^ "iOS: Version History 23.19.0; Sep 20, 2023" . March 25, 2024. Retrieved March 29, 2024 .
^ "WhatsApp apk mirror repo" . March 29, 2024. Retrieved March 29, 2024 .
^ "WhatsApp Win Uptodown Repo" . March 25, 2024. Retrieved March 29, 2024 .
^ "mac:Version History 2.2338.12; Sep 22, 2023" . March 14, 2024. Retrieved March 29, 2024 .
^ "WhatsApp apk" . March 29, 2024. Retrieved March 29, 2024 .
^ O'Connell, Ainsley (February 21, 2014). "Inside Erlang, The Rare Programming Language Behind WhatsApp's Success" . Fast Company . Archived from the original on February 2, 2018. Retrieved December 20, 2017 .
^ "WhatsApp Messenger" . App Store . Archived from the original on April 30, 2021. Retrieved June 9, 2021 .
^ "WhatsApp Messenger APKs" . APKMirror . Retrieved April 14, 2024 .
^ "WhatsApp Help Center - How to change WhatsApp's language" . whatsapp.com . Archived from the original on July 3, 2022. Retrieved March 26, 2021 .
^ "WhatsApp" . whatsapp.com . Archived from the original on October 22, 2023. Retrieved June 23, 2022 .
^ "WhatsApp Business Terms of Service" . whatsapp.com . Archived from the original on August 5, 2023. Retrieved June 23, 2022 .
^ Metz, Cade (April 5, 2016). "Forget Apple vs. the FBI: WhatsApp Just Switched on Encryption for a Billion People" . Wired . ISSN 1059-1028 . Archived from the original on April 9, 2017. Retrieved May 13, 2016 .
^ "Features" . whatsapp.com . Archived from the original on May 28, 2019. Retrieved May 31, 2019 .
^ Voice calling , March 12, 2015, archived from the original on March 17, 2015, retrieved March 16, 2015
^ "WhatsApp Voice Calling" . Forbes . April 4, 2015. Archived from the original on October 19, 2017. Retrieved September 18, 2017 .
^ "WhatsApp Desktop Client for Windows & Mac Is Only Second Best" . MakeUseOf . February 20, 2018. Archived from the original on February 27, 2019. Retrieved June 18, 2019 .
^ "WhatsApp FAQ – Using one WhatsApp account on multiple phones, or with multiple phone numbers" . whatsapp.com . Archived from the original on May 10, 2018. Retrieved May 9, 2018 .
^ "There's a new version of WhatsApp" . The Independent . January 19, 2018. Archived from the original on August 5, 2019. Retrieved June 18, 2019 .
^ Armstrong, Paul. "How To Know If Your Business Should Use The New WhatsApp Business App" . Forbes . Archived from the original on April 8, 2019. Retrieved June 18, 2019 .
^ Albergotti, Reed; MacMillan, Douglas; Rusli, Evelyn M. (February 20, 2014). "Facebook to Pay $19 Billion for WhatsApp" . The Wall Street Journal . pp. A1, A6. ISSN 0099-9660 . Archived from the original on October 2, 2019. Retrieved September 20, 2019 .
^ "Facebook to Acquire WhatsApp" (Press release). February 19, 2014. Archived from the original on February 20, 2014. Retrieved February 19, 2014 .
^ a b Metz, Cade (April 5, 2016). "Forget Apple vs. the FBI: WhatsApp Just Switched on Encryption for a Billion People" . Wired . Archived from the original on April 5, 2016.
^ Sun, Leo (September 11, 2015). "Facebook Inc.'s WhatsApp Hits 900 Million Users: What Now?" . The Motley Fool . Archived from the original on October 14, 2015. Retrieved October 21, 2015 .
^ "WhatsApp Blog" . whatsapp.com . Archived from the original on February 14, 2020. Retrieved February 14, 2020 .
^ "reuters" . Reuters . Archived from the original on October 10, 2023. Retrieved April 27, 2024 .