The popularity of WhatsApp seems to have only grown after the $19 billion acquisition by Facebook. Today the company announced through its blog that its total ‘active’ user base had crossed 500 million. ‘Active’ here is significant, since unlike other IM companies that report the number of registered users, WhatsApp’s active users are those who actually use the app.
Take it this way. With $1 fee per year, WhatsApp is making half a billion dollars by doing nothing extra. The $19 billion deal doesn’t sound so stupid now, does it? WhatsApp is seeing 700 million photos and 100 million videos being sent every single day. A majority of its growth is coming from emerging markets such as India, Russia and Brazil.
With rumors about the developers adding calling facility to the app, somewhat similar to what Skype offers, we might see it becoming an even more significant player in the IM market than it currently is.
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