Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Mobile
  3. News

WhatsApp hits 600 million active users

Trevor Mogg
By

” id=”attachment_649680″]fake whatsapp
”[Image
WhatsApp continues to grow at a fast clip, with boss and founder Jan Koum tweeting Monday that the messaging service now has 600 million monthly active users worldwide.

Acquired by Facebook back in February for a colossal $19 billion, the latest data shows the app continues to lead the pack in the field of mobile messaging.

Recommended Videos

Koum evidently couldn’t resist a little crack at rival messaging services in his tweet, specifically those that go by registered users rather than active users when announcing updated stats.

Its current user base of 600 million marks an increase of 100 million since April, while 14 months ago it reported 250 million active users.

Launched in 2009, the cross-platform app is free for a year, after which users have to pay a dollar annually to extend their subscription. The revenue allows it to keep the service free of ads, a situation Koum promised wouldn’t change following Facebook’s purchase. Indeed, the startup likes to keep things simple, ignoring extra features such as stickers and games favored by rival services.

Related: Facebook buys WhatsApp for $19 billion

With more users than any other similar app, it appears to be a winning formula. However, rivals are pushing to close the gap, with Tango, for example, recently launching a $25 million gaming fund designed to encourage developers to bring their software to its messaging service, confident that such content will be a hit with users.

Tango has gradually evolved into a full-fledged social platform since launching in 2009. Besides communicating with each other via text, video, and voice, users can also share photos, discover new music, and play games.

Another rival, Viber, was acquired by Japan-based e-commerce giant Rakuten in February for $900 million. Earlier this year it had 100 million active users, though Rakuten boss Hiroshi Mikitani said in March he plans to eventually reach 2 billion users, a mighty ambition if ever there was one.

The likes of Kik, BBM, and Line are also jostling for position in the mobile messaging space, with smartphone growth in developing countries promising plenty of possibilities for continued expansion.

WeChat is currently the second biggest player in the space, with 438 million active users. Launched three years ago, the cross-platform service has proved incredibly popular with its mainly Chinese user base, though it’s now also picking up plenty of users around the world.

[via TNW]

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Trevor Mogg
Trevor Mogg
Contributing Editor
Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…
How to preview WhatsApp voice messages before sending
An image showing a women using her phone for messaging.

WhatsApp has been on a feature-addition spree for a while now. Among the recently introduced features on the popular instant messaging platform are the ability to move messages from iPhones to Pixels, the option to send disappearing messages, and supporting crypto-powered mobile payments — and it seems it's not done yet.

WhatsApp’s official Twitter account tweeted about the addition of a new feature that millions of users have been demanding for a really long time. Yes, WhatsApp finally lets you preview voice messages before sending them. Here’s how you can use the new preview feature with WhatsApp voice notes to make sure you don't end up sending a voice note that you may later regret.

Read more
WhatsApp just upgraded its emoji reactions and I want them now
Close up of WhatsApp icon as seen on a smartphone display. Credits: WhatsApp official.

WhatsApp will now allow users to react to messages with any emoji, in an expansion of its reaction feature that came out last year. It's coming to iOS and Android over the coming weeks, and it brings more personalization to one of the world's most used messaging apps.

Once you get the update, the emoji reactions will work as they do now, with a long press bringing up the basic six options with the incision of a new plus button. Pressing that plus icon will show you the new expanded set of emojis, and you'll be able to add whatever emoji you want. This includes skin tone variations, family types, and more.

Read more
You can finally move your WhatsApp chats from Android to iOS
WhatsApp and Telegram app icons.

Moving WhatsApp chats from Android to iOS has been a painful task for years. But not anymore, as Apple and WhatsApp have made the process a whole lot easier. Starting today, Apple is adding a feature that allows you to move chats between the two platforms. The feature is a part of Apple’s existing “Move to iOS” Android application. It’s worth noting that the feature is currently available for beta users only, so non-beta users might have to wait for a week or two as it's rolled out in phases.

This is a big move since 2 million people use WhatsApp and, until now, there wasn’t an official method to move conversations between Android and iOS. There have been third-party solutions here and there, but nothing officially backed by Apple or WhatsApp. With the feature becoming available, users will be able to move their chats swiftly from Android to iOS.

Read more