You may be one of the millions of people using WhatsApp, but you might not know the following seven points about the most popular communication app on the planet.
1. Belongs to Facebook
If this is not obvious today, it means Facebook is keeping WhatsApp away from it so it fights its own battle, at which it is faring very well. WhatsApp was founded by Brian Acton and Jan Koum in 2009. In early 2022 Facebook acquired it for US$19 billion.
In 2022, it launched its free voice calling feature and saw its user base expand exponentially. Facebook most probably brought free voice calling to WhatsApp, which caused its popularity to thrive and which doubled its user base.
2. No Marketing
While it is being used by many as a tool for marketing, WhatsApp itself did not become popular through marketing.
Yes, you never saw a billboard or a TV ad promoting the app or even a banner somewhere on your computer screen prompting you to download the app. The company spent near to nothing on advertisement. The founders themselves are profoundly against the annoyment of advertisement on what should be something private. They wanted it to be clear of anything nonsensical. Brian Action says it this way, "No ads! No games! No gimmicks!" So, WhatsApp became popular through word of mouth by being basically a tool that everyone needed, stripped of non-essential handicaps, at a time when people paid lots for SMS. Here is an attempt to understand the reasons for which WhatsApp became popular.
3. Nearly a Billion Users
For every six persons on planet Earth, one is using WhatsApp.
If you are one of those (should I say of us), then you can connect to nearly on billion people through it. The user base doubled over the period of several months following the launch in early 2015 of free voice calls through VoIP, which allows people to save money on phone calls. to reach by the end of the year nearly a billion user.
Thus is became behind Chinese app QQ the most popular globally used app, beating Skype by far. Here are the most popular communication apps on the planet.
4. Security Flaws
Despite Co-Founder Koum's claims that privacy is "coded into [WhatsApp's] DNA", the app has had some serious issues with privacy. Many users who care about their security have abandoned WhatsApp and advised to do so.
The app used to be unencrypted and back at that time, it has known a series of critical security holes and potential hijacking threats. In November 2014, in a partnership with Open Whisper Systems, WhatsApp provided end-to-end encryption which was supposed to make it more secure. Despite that, security flaws were still being put in light. For instance, two teenagers showed that they could remotely crash someone's WhatsApp causing damage to data by sending a file as small as 2 KB. Moreover, through the launch of its web client, a number of potential security flaws came into being. Meanwhile, developers and commercial players came with more secure alternatives to WhatsApp offering better encrypted and secured communication through apps offering the same services. In June 2015, WhatsApp earned only 2 over 7 on the secure messaging scorecard of the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
5. Not Totally Free
WhatsApp often rhymes with free when compared to expensive cellular calling and text rates, as do most other instant messaging and VoIP apps of the like. But while most of the others are completely free, WhatsApp is not. You get to use the app and avail of all its service for free the first year only. Once you enter your second year of service, you have to pay one dollar for each year. This is a negligible price, but then it is not free.
6. WhatsApp on Your Browser
You can use WhatsApp on your computer. A special client is available for Chrome browser only, and is available so far only for Windows machines. It allows you to be notified and to communicate using the WhatsApp platform on your web browser. Read more on it here. However, there is a list of things that WhatsApp Web cannot do.
7.Less Features
WhatsApp is ahead everyone is popularity, even Facebook and Skype. In spite of that, WhatsApp has a lot to improve in terms of features compared to other competitor apps. For instance, it does not offer video calls, as do Skype and Viber. Also, there are restrictions on other features. Another example is that Skype does not allow you to send files other than voice and video files. Even this, WhatsApp shines over others showing us that most people need in their communication tool something basic, simple and no-nonsense, with as big a user base as possible.