WhatsApp has one billion users. That's how many active accounts it had last month, at least according to the Facebook subsidiary -- an instant-messaging service for young persons (or so I'm told).
It won't surprise you to know that Jan Koum, the Ukrainian-born CEO, is overjoyed. I dare say Mark Zuckerberg is also fairly happy.
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[Developing story: Updated 8:27 pm PT with more comment]
He's not tryin' to cause a big sensation. Jake Smith's just talkin' about his g-g-g-generation—Facebook-owned WhatsApp hits one billion monthly active users:
Facebook-owned WhatsApp [now has] more than 1 billion monthly active users. [And] the messaging app isn't slowing down anytime soon.
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WhatsApp is such a go-to...thanks to its ease of use to send messages to anyone in the world.
Get off my lawn. Deepa Seetharaman wants her ball back—WhatsApp Joins the Billion Users Club:
The bare-bones messaging app...now boasts a billion users a month, a key point on its road to profitability.
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Facebook bought WhatsApp about two years ago in a deal worth about $22 billion. ... WhatsApp’s co-founder Jan Koum remains averse to advertising. ... But last month, Mr. Koum said that the company was starting to explore new business models.
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It stayed put in Mountain View...rather than move to Facebook’s sprawling Menlo Park...headquarters. WhatsApp’s team of 57 engineers is focused on building an app that can adapt to the worst network conditions.
Jan Koum's PR flack simply blogs—One billion:
That's nearly one in seven people on Earth who use WhatsApp each month to stay in touch with their loved ones, their friends and their family.
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WhatsApp began as a simple idea: ensuring that anyone could stay in touch with family and friends anywhere...without costs or gimmicks. ... Every day, our team continues to work to improve WhatsApp's speed, reliability, security and simplicity.
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We still have another 6 billion people...a long way left to go.
A billion -- is that a lot? Stephen Hall has context—Both Gmail and WhatsApp have now passed more than 1 billion active monthly users:
Google CEO Sundar Pichai mentioned that Gmail has joined a list of 6 other Google services that now have more than 1 billion active monthly users.
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While Gmail and WhatsApp may now have more than 1 billion active monthly users, both apps have long since passed the 1 billion install mark on the Google Play Store.
So, all good news, smiles and flowers? Phil "Tim" Tann lines it up—WhatsApp tops 1 billion monthly active users:
WhatsApp is a big player in the messaging arena – in fact, one of the biggest. ... The app’s userbase has continued to grow, accelerating when Facebook purchased the company...and shows no immediate signs of slowing.
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The company did face a few hurdles in recent months including...blocking of Telegram links...being blocked in some countries, and an unexpected outage.
Update: Who's cool? Nitish Kulkarni, that's who—WhatsApp Hits One Billion Users, Remains In Search Of Revenue:
What’s cooler than a (several hundred) million users? A billion users.
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WhatsApp acquired around 100 million users [since] September 2015, when the company reported having 900 million active users.
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Despite these impressive user numbers, WhatsApp’s capability to generate revenue is once again in question after the company scrapped the $0.99 fee. ... As WhatsApp plans to move into the Business-To-Consumer...communications market and tries to deploy end-to-end encryption, the product will come head-to-head with...Telegram and Facebook’s own Messenger.
And Finally...
Speaking of getting of my lawn: Cassettes were better than you don't remember
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