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 24.16.78[ 3] / August 13, 2024; 19 days ago (August 13, 2024 ) Android 2.24.16.77[ 4] / August 13, 2024; 19 days ago (August 13, 2024 ) Windows 2.2429.10.0[ 5] / July 29, 2024; 34 days ago (July 29, 2024 ) macOS 24.16.78[ 6] / August 13, 2024; 19 days ago (August 13, 2024 )
Android (Beta ) 2.24.17.25[ 7] / August 16, 2024; 16 days ago (August 16, 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,[ 14] [ 24] and had more than 2 billion users worldwide by February 2020,[ 25] confirmed four years later by new 200M registrations per month.[ 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 .
^ "iOS: Version History 23.19.0; Sep 20, 2023" . August 13, 2024. Retrieved August 17, 2024 .
^ "WhatsApp apk mirror repo" . August 17, 2024. Retrieved August 17, 2024 .
^ "WhatsApp Win Uptodown Repo" . August 17, 2024. Retrieved August 17, 2024 .
^ "WhatsApp Messenger on the App Store" . August 13, 2024. Retrieved August 17, 2024 .
^ "WhatsApp apk" . August 17, 2024. Retrieved August 17, 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 .
^ 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 , 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 .
^ 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 .