| WhatsApp Messenger | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Screenshot Screenshot depicting WhatsApp's home screen in 2025 | |||||||||
| Original author(s) | Brian Acton, Jan Koum | ||||||||
| Developer(s) | Meta Platforms, Will Cathcart (Head of WhatsApp)[1][2] | ||||||||
| Initial release | February 2009 | ||||||||
| Stable release(s) [±] | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Preview release(s) [±] | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Written in | Erlang[7] | ||||||||
| Operating system | Android, iOS, iPadOS, macOS, Windows, Wear OS, Meta Quest | ||||||||
| Size | 183.7 MB (iOS)[8] 48.02 MB (Android)[9] | ||||||||
| Available in | 40 (iOS) and 60 (Android)[10] languages | ||||||||
| Type | Social media, instant messaging, VoIP | ||||||||
| License | Proprietary software with EULA "European Region"[11] "others"[12] | ||||||||
| Website | whatsapp.com | ||||||||
| This article is part of a series about |
| Meta Platforms |
|---|
| Products and services |
| People |
| Business |
WhatsApp (officially WhatsApp Messenger), owned by Meta Platforms, is an American social media, instant messaging (IM), and Voice over IP (VoIP) service accessible via desktop and mobile app.[13][14] It allows users to send text messages, voice messages, and video messages,[15] make voice and video calls, and share images, documents, user locations, and other content.[16][17] The service requires a cellular mobile telephone number to register.[18] WhatsApp was launched in February 2009. In January 2018, WhatsApp released a standalone business app called WhatsApp Business which can communicate with the standard WhatsApp client.[19][20] As of May 2025, the service had 3 billion monthly active users, making it the most used messenger app.[21] The name of the app is meant to sound like "what's up".
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 in 2015, with 900 million users,[14][24] and had more than 2 billion active users worldwide in February 2020.[25] WhatsApp Business had approximately 200 million monthly users in 2023.[26] By 2016, it had become the primary means of Internet communication in regions including the Americas, the Indian subcontinent, and large parts of Europe and Africa.[14]
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b "WhatsApp Messenger". July 8, 2025. Retrieved July 8, 2025.
- ^ "WhatsApp Messenger". July 8, 2025. Retrieved July 8, 2025.
- ^ "WhatsApp Win Uptodown Repo". July 4, 2025. Retrieved July 8, 2025.
- ^ "WhatsApp apk". July 8, 2025. Retrieved July 8, 2025.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "WhatsApp Desktop Client for Windows & Mac Is Only Second Best". MakeUseOf. February 20, 2018. Archived from the original on February 27, 2019.
- ^ a b c 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", NDTV Gadgets 360, 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 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.
- ^ Mehta, Ivan (May 1, 2025). "WhatsApp now has more than 3 billion users a month". TechCrunch.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Sun, Leo (September 11, 2015). "Facebook Inc.'s WhatsApp Hits 900 Million Users: What Now?". The Motley Fool. Retrieved October 21, 2015.
- ^ "WhatsApp Blog". whatsapp.com. Archived from the original on February 14, 2020. Retrieved February 14, 2020.
- ^ "WhatsApp denies report platform is exploring ads". Reuters. September 15, 2023. Archived from the original on October 10, 2023. Retrieved April 27, 2024.