WhatsApp

FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

WhatsAppMessengerisaproprietarycrossplatform,
encrypted,instantmessagingclientforsmartphones.[9]It
usestheInternettosendtextmessages,documents,images,
video,userlocationandaudiomessages[10][11]tootherusers
usingstandardcellularmobilenumbers.
AsofFebruary2016,WhatsApphadauserbaseofone
billion,[12][13]makingitthemostpopularmessaging
application.[13][14]
WhatsAppInc.,basedinMountainView,California,United
States,wasacquiredbyFacebookInc.onFebruary19,2014,
forapproximatelyUS$19.3billion.[15][16]

WhatsAppMessenger

Originalauthor(s) WhatsAppInc.
Developer(s)

Facebook

Initialrelease

January2010

Stablerelease

Android:2.16.105[1] (May26,
2016[2]) [](https://en.wikipedia.org/
w/index.php?title=Template:Latest_st
able_software_release/WhatsApp&ac
tion=edit)
BlackBerry:2.16.4 (March3,

Contents

2016[3]) [](https://en.wikipedia.org/
w/index.php?title=Template:Latest_st
able_software_release/WhatsApp&ac
tion=edit)

1 History
1.1 AcquisitionbyFacebook
2 Platformsupport
2.1 WhatsAppWeb
2.2 WindowsandMac
3 Technical
3.1 Encryption
4 Securityconcerns
5 Privacyconcerns
6 Reception
6.1 Securityandprivacy
6.1.1 Braziliancourtorders
6.2 Businessmodel
6.3 Competitionandshares
7 Seealso
8 References
9 Externallinks

iOS:2.16.1 (April2,2016[4]) []
(https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.ph
p?title=Template:Latest_stable_softwa
re_release/WhatsApp&action=edit)

Symbian:2.16.38[5] [](https://e
n.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Te
mplate:Latest_stable_software_releas
e/WhatsApp&action=edit)

NokiaS40devices:2.16.4[6]
[](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.
php?title=Template:Latest_stable_soft
ware_release/WhatsApp&action=edi
t)

WindowsPhone:2.16.64
(May27,2016) [](https://en.wikipe

History

dia.org/w/index.php?title=Template:L

WhatsAppInc.,wasfoundedin2009byBrianActonandJan
Koum,bothformeremployeesofYahoo!.AfterKoumand
ActonleftYahoo!inSeptember2007,theduotraveledto
SouthAmericaasabreakfromwork.[17]Atonepointthey
appliedforjobsatFacebookbutwererejected.[17]Forthe
restofthefollowingyearsKoumreliedonhis$400,000
savingsfromYahoo!.InJanuary2009,afterpurchasingan
iPhoneandrealizingthatthesevenmontholdAppStorewas
abouttospawnawholenewindustryofapps,hestarted
visitinghisfriendAlexFishmaninWestSanJosewherethe
threewoulddiscuss"...havingstatusesnexttoindividual

App&action=edit)

atest_stable_software_release/Whats

Writtenin

Erlang[7]

Operatingsystem Crossplatform
Availablein

Multilingual

Type

Instantmessaging

License

Proprietary

Alexarank
Website

66[8]
www.whatsapp.com(https://w

namesofthepeople,"butthiswasnotpossiblewithoutan
iPhonedeveloper,soFishmanintroducedKoumtoIgor
Solomennikov,adeveloperinRussiathathehadfoundon
RentACoder.com.Koumalmostimmediatelychosethename
"WhatsApp"becauseitsoundedlike"what'sup",andaweek
lateronhisbirthday,onFebruary24,2009,heincorporated
WhatsAppInc.inCalifornia.However,earlyWhatsAppkept
crashingorgettingstuckandataparticularpoint,Koumfelt
likegivingupandlookingforanewjob,uponwhichActon
encouragedhimtowaitfora"fewmoremonths".[17]

ww.whatsapp.com/)

WhatsAppInc.

Type

Subsidiary

InJune2009,Applelaunchedpushnotifications,letting
Founded
February24,2009
developerspinguserswhentheywerenotusinganapp.
Headquarters MountainView,California,United
KoumupdatedWhatsAppsothateachtimetheuserchanged
States
theirstatuses,itwouldpingeveryoneintheuser's
Founder(s)
JanKoum
network.[17]WhatsApp2.0wasreleasedwithamessaging
BrianActon
componentandtheactiveuserssuddenlyswelledto250,000.
KoumvisitedActon,whowasstillunemployedwhile
CEO
JanKoum
managinganotherstartupanddecidedtojointhe
Employees
55
company.[17]InOctoberActonpersuadedfiveexYahoo!
Parent
Facebook
friendstoinvest$250,000inseedfunding,andasaresult
wasgrantedcofounderstatusandastake.Heofficially
Website
www.whatsapp.com(https://www.w
[17]
hatsapp.com/)
joinedonNovember1. Aftermonthsatbetastage,the
applicationeventuallylaunchedinNovember2009
exclusivelyontheAppStorefortheiPhone.KoumthenhiredanoldfriendwholivedinLosAngeles,Chris
Peiffer,tomaketheBlackBerryversion,whicharrivedtwomonthslater.[17]
WhatsAppwasswitchedfromafreetopaidservicetoavoidgrowingtoofast,mainlybecausetheprimarycost
wassendingverificationtextstousers.InDecember2009WhatsAppfortheiPhonewasupdatedtosend
photos.Byearly2011,WhatsAppwasinthetop20ofallappsinApple'sU.S.AppStore.[17]
InApril2011,SequoiaCapitalwastheonlyventureinvestorinWhatsAppandpaidapproximately$8million
formorethan15percentofthecompanyin2011ontopoftheir$250,000seedfunding,aftermonthsof
negotiationwithSequoiapartnerJimGoetz.[18][19][20]
ByFebruary2013,WhatsApp'suserbasehadswollentoabout200millionactiveusersanditsstaffto50.
Sequoiainvestedanother$50million,valuingWhatsAppat$1.5billion.[17]
InaDecember2013blogpost,WhatsAppclaimedthat400millionactiveusersusetheserviceeachmonth.[21]
AsofApril22,2014,WhatsApphadover500millionmonthlyactiveusers,700millionphotosand100million
videoswerebeingshareddaily,andthemessagingsystemwashandlingmorethan10billionmessageseach
day.[22]OnAugust24,2014,KoumannouncedonhisTwitteraccountthatWhatsApphadover600million
activeusersworldwide.AtthatpointWhatsAppwasaddingabout25millionnewuserseverymonth,or
833,000activeusersperday.[23][24]With65millionactiveusers,about10%ofthetotalworldwideusers,India
wasthelargestsinglecountryintermsofnumberofusers.[25]
InJanuary2015,WhatsAppwasthemostgloballypopularmessagingapp,withmorethan600millionactive
users.[23]InApril2015,WhatsAppreached800millionactiveusers.[26]BySeptember2015,theuserbasehad
grownto900million,[27]andbyFebruary2016ithadgrowntoonebillion.[12]

AsofNovember30,2015,theAndroidclientforWhatsAppstartedmakinglinkstoanothermessengercalled
Telegramunclickableanduncopiable.[28][29][30]IthasbeenconfirmedbymultiplesourcesthatWhatsAppis
activelyblockingdomainswiththewordtelegraminthesourcecodeoftheAndroidapp.[30]WhatsApphasnot
yetgivenanexplanationforthisbehavior.
ByJune2016,WhatsApphitsmorethan100millionvoicecallsperdayonitsserviceaccordingtoaposton
thecompanyblog.[31]

AcquisitionbyFacebook
OnFebruary19,2014,monthsafteraventurecapitalfinancingroundata$1.5billionvaluation,[32]Facebook
announceditwasacquiringWhatsAppforUS$19billion,itslargestacquisitiontodate.[16]Atthetime,the
acquisitionwasthelargestpurchaseofaventurebackedcompanyinhistory.SequoiaCapitalreceivedan
approximate50xreturnonitsinitialinvestment.[33]Facebook,whichwasadvisedbyAllen&Co,paid$4
billionincash,$12billioninFacebookshares,andanadditional$3billioninrestrictedstockunitsgrantedto
WhatsApp'sfounders(advisedbyMorganStanley),KoumandActon.[34]Employeestockwasscheduledto
vestoverfouryearssubsequenttoclosing.[16]Thetransactionwasthelargestpurchaseofacompanybackedby
venturecapitaliststodate.[15]Daysaftertheannouncement,WhatsAppusersexperiencedalossofservice,
leadingtoangeracrosssocialmedia.[35]
Theacquisitioncausedaconsiderablenumberofuserstomove,ortryoutothermessageservicesaswell.
Telegramclaimedtohaveseen8millionadditionaldownloadsofitsapp.[36]Lineclaimedtohaveseen2
millionnewusersforitsservice.[37]
AtakeynotepresentationattheMobileWorldCongressinBarcelonainFebruary2014,FacebookCEOMark
ZuckerbergsaidthatFacebook'sacquisitionofWhatsAppwascloselyrelatedtotheInternet.orgvision.[38][39]
AccordingtoaTechCruncharticle,Zuckerberg'svisionforInternet.orgwasasfollows:"Theidea,hesaid,isto
developagroupofbasicinternetservicesthatwouldbefreeofchargetouse'a911fortheinternet.'These
couldbeasocialnetworkingservicelikeFacebook,amessagingservice,maybesearchandotherthingslike
weather.Providingabundleofthesefreeofchargetouserswillworklikeagatewaydrugofsortsuserswho
maybeabletoafforddataservicesandphonesthesedaysjustdontseethepointofwhytheywouldpayfor
thosedataservices.Thiswouldgivethemsomecontextforwhytheyareimportant,andthatwillleadthemto
payingformoreserviceslikethisorsothehopegoes."[38]
OnMay9,2014,thegovernmentofIranannouncedthatithadproposedtoblocktheaccesstoWhatsApp
servicetoIranianresidents."ThereasonforthisistheassumptionofWhatsAppbytheFacebookfounderMark
Zuckerberg,whoisanAmericanZionist,"saidAbdolsamadKhorramabadi,headofthecountry'sCommitteeon
InternetCrimes.SubsequentlyIranianpresidentHassanRouhaniissuedanordertotheMinistryofICTtostop
filteringWhatsApp.[40][41]
JustthreedaysafterannouncingthatWhatsApphadbeenpurchasedbyFacebook,Koumsaidtheywere
workingtointroducevoicecallsinthecomingmonths.Healsoadvancedthatnewmobilephoneswouldbe
soldinGermanywiththeWhatsAppbrand,astheirmaingoalwastobeinallsmartphones.[42]
ByearlyJanuary2015,WhatsApphad700millionmonthlyactiveuserswithover30billionmessagesbeing
senteveryday.[43]InApril2015,Forbespredictedthatbetween2012and2018,thetelecommunications
industrywillloseacombinedtotalof$386billionbecauseofOTTserviceslikeWhatsAppandSkype.[44]That
month,WhatsApphadover800millionactiveusers.[45]

OnJanuary18,2016,WhatsApp'sfounderJanKoumannouncedthattheservicewouldnolongerchargetheir
usersa$1annualsubscriptionfeeinanefforttoremoveabarrierfacedbysomeuserswhodonothaveacredit
cardtopayfortheservice.[46][47]Healsoexplainedthattheappwouldnotdisplayanythirdparty
advertisementandinsteadwouldbringnewfeaturessuchastheabilitytocommunicatewithbusiness
organizations.[12][48]

Platformsupport
Aftermonthsatbetastage,theapplicationeventuallylaunchedinNovember2009exclusivelyontheAppStore
fortheiPhone.InJanuary2010,supportforBlackBerrysmartphoneswasadded,andsubsequentlyforSymbian
OSinMay2010andforAndroidOSinAugust2010.InAugust2011abetaforNokia'snonsmartphoneOS
Series40wasadded.AmonthlatersupportforWindowsPhonewasadded,followedbyBlackBerry10in
March2013.[49]InApril2015,supportforSamsung'sTizenOSwasadded.[50]Anunofficialporthasbeen
releasedfortheMeeGobasedNokiaN9calledWazzap,[51]aswellasaportfortheMaemobasedNokiaN900
calledYappari.[52]
TheoldestdevicecapableofrunningWhatsAppistheSymbianbasedNokiaN95releasedinMarch2007.
InAugust2014,WhatsAppreleasedanupdatetoitsAndroidapp,addingsupportforAndroidWear
smartwatches.[53]
In2014anunofficialopensourceplugincalledwhatsapppurplewasreleasedforPidgin,implementingits
XMPPandmakingitpossibletouseWhatsApponaWindowsorLinuxPC.[54]WhatsApprespondedby
automaticallyblockingphonenumbersthatconnectedtoWhatsAppusingthisplugin.
OnJanuary21,2015,WhatsApplaunchedWhatsAppWeb,awebclientwhichcanbeusedthroughaweb
browserbysyncingwiththemobiledevice'sconnection.[55]
OnFebruary26,2016,WhatsAppannouncedtheywouldceasesupportforBlackBerrybytheendof2016.[56]

WhatsAppWeb
WhatsAppwasofficiallymadeavailableforPCsthroughawebclient,underthenameWhatsAppWeb,inlate
January2015throughanannouncementmadebyKoumonhisFacebookpage:"Ourwebclientissimplyan
extensionofyourphone:thewebbrowsermirrorsconversationsandmessagesfromyourmobiledevicethis
meansallofyourmessagesstillliveonyourphone".TheWhatsAppuser'shandsetmuststillbeconnectedto
theInternetforthebrowserapplicationtofunction.Allmajordesktopbrowsersaresupportedexceptfor
MicrosoftInternetExplorer.WhatsAppWeb'suserinterfaceisbasedonthedefaultAndroidone.
AsofJanuary21,2015,thedesktopversionwasonlyavailabletoAndroid,BlackBerryandWindowsPhone
users.Lateron,italsoaddedsupportforiOS,NokiaSeries40,andNokiaS60(Symbian).[57][58]
AnunofficialderivativecalledWhatsAppTimehasbeendeveloped,whichisastandardWin32applicationfor
PCsandsupportsnotificationsthroughtheWindowsnotificationarea.[59]TherearesimilarsolutionsforMac
OSX,suchastheopensourceChitChat[60][61][62]andmultiplewrappersavailableintheAppStore.

WindowsandMac
On10May2016,themessagingservicewasintroducedforbothWindowsandMacoperatingsystems.Similar
totheWhatsAppWebformat,theapp,whichwillbesyncedwithauser'smobiledevice,isavailablefor
downloadonthewebsite.ItsupportsOSversionsofWindows8andMacOS10.9andhigher.[63][64]

Technical
WhatsAppusesacustomizedversionoftheopenstandardExtensibleMessagingandPresenceProtocol
(XMPP).[65]Uponinstallation,itcreatesauseraccountusingone'sphonenumberastheusername(JabberID:
[phonenumber]@s.whatsapp.net).
WhatsAppsoftwareautomaticallycomparesallthephonenumbersfromthedevice'saddressbookwithits
centraldatabaseofWhatsAppuserstoautomaticallyaddcontactstotheuser'sWhatsAppcontactlist.
PreviouslytheAndroidandS40versionsusedanMD5hashed,reversedversionofthephone'sIMEIas
password,[66]whiletheiOSversionusedthephone'sWiFiMACaddressinsteadofIMEI.[67][68]A2012
updatenowgeneratesarandompasswordontheserverside.[69]
SomeDualSIMdevicesmaynotbecompatiblewithWhatsApp,thoughtherearesomeworkaroundsfor
this.[70]
InJanuary2015,WhatsAppintroducedavoicecallingfeaturethishelpedWhatsApptoattractacompletely
differentsegmentoftheuserpopulation.[71]
Multimediamessagesaresentbyuploadingtheimage,audioorvideotobesenttoanHTTPserverandthen
sendingalinktothecontentalongwithitsBase64encodedthumbnail(ifapplicable).[72]
WhatsAppfollowsa'storeandforward'mechanismforexchangingmessagesbetweentwousers.Whenauser
sendsamessage,itfirsttravelstotheWhatsAppserverwhereitisstored.Thentheserverrepeatedlyrequests
thereceiveracknowledgereceiptofthemessage.Assoonasthemessageisacknowledged,theserverdropsthe
messageitisnolongeravailableindatabaseofserver.WhatsAppserverkeepsthemessageonlyfor30daysin
itsdatabasewhenitisnotdelivered(whenthereceiverisnotactiveonWhatsAppfor30days).[73]
GoogleNowisalsogoingtosupportdirectmessagesendingprotocolfromitsvoicecommand.Thisservice
willbeavailableondifferentmessagingservicesandthehighlightedoneisWhatsapp.GoogleNowwill
providethisserviceforfreeandWhatsAppuserswillbeabletosendandreceivemessagesonGoogleNow.[74]

Encryption
InMay2011,asecurityholewasreportedwhichleftWhatsAppuseraccountsopenforsessionhijackingand
packetanalysis.[75]WhatsAppcommunicationswerenotencrypted,anddatawassentandreceivedinplaintext,
meaningmessagescouldeasilybereadifpackettraceswereavailable.[76]
InMay2012securityresearchersnoticedthatnewupdatesofWhatsAppnolongersentmessagesas
plaintext,[77][78][79]butthecryptographicmethodimplementedwassubsequentlydescribedas"broken".[80][81]
InAugust2012theWhatsAppsupportstaffsaidthatmessageswereencryptedinthe"latestversion"ofthe
WhatsAppsoftwareforiOSandAndroid(butnotBlackBerry,WindowsPhone,andSymbian),without
specifyingthecryptographicmethod.[82]
OnNovember18,2014,OpenWhisperSystemsannouncedapartnershipwithWhatsApptoprovideendtoend
encryptionbyincorporatingtheencryptionprotocolusedinSignalintoeachWhatsAppclientplatform.[83]
OpenWhisperSystemssaidthattheyhadalreadyincorporatedtheprotocolintothelatestWhatsAppclientfor
Android,andthatsupportforotherclients,group/mediamessages,andkeyverificationwouldbecomingsoon
after.[84]WhatsAppconfirmedthepartnershiptoreporters,buttherewasnoannouncementordocumentation
abouttheencryptionfeatureontheofficialwebsite,andfurtherrequestsforcommentweredeclined.[85]In
April2015,GermanmagazineHeiseSecurityusedARPspoofingtoconfirmthattheprotocolhadbeen
implementedforAndroidtoAndroidmessages,andthatWhatsAppmessagesfromortoiPhonesrunningiOS
werestillnotendtoendencrypted.[86]TheyexpressedtheconcernthatregularWhatsAppusersstillcouldnot

tellthedifferencebetweenendtoendencryptedmessagesandregularmessages.[86]OnApril5,2016,
WhatsAppandOpenWhisperSystemsannouncedthattheyhadfinishedaddingendtoendencryptionto
"everyformofcommunication"onWhatsApp,andthatuserscouldnowverifyeachother'skeys.[13][87]Users
werealsogiventheoptiontoenableatrustonfirstusemechanisminordertobenotifiedifacorrespondent's
keychanges.[88]Accordingtoawhitepaperthatwasreleasedalongwiththeannouncement,WhatsApp
messagesareencryptedwiththeSignalProtocol,[89]whichcombinestheDoubleRatchetAlgorithm,prekeys,
anda3DHhandshake.[90]WhatsAppcallsareencryptedwithSRTP,andallclientservercommunicationsare
"layeredwithinaseparateencryptedchannel".[89]TheSignalProtocollibraryusedbyWhatsAppisopen
sourceandpublishedundertheGPLv3license.[89][91]
CadeMetz,writinginWired,said"WhatsApp,morethananycompanybeforeit,hastakenencryptiontothe
masses."[9]

Securityconcerns
OnJanuary6,2012,anunknownhackerpublishedawebsitethatmadeitpossibletochangethestatusofan
arbitraryWhatsAppuser,aslongasthephonenumberwasknown.Tomakeitwork,itonlyrequiredarestartof
theapp.Accordingtothehacker,itwasonlyoneofmanysecurityproblemsinWhatsApp.OnJanuary9,
WhatsAppreportedthatithadresolvedtheproblem,althoughtheonlymeasureactuallytakenwastoblockthe
website'sIPaddress.Asareaction,aWindowstoolwasmadeavailablefordownloadprovidingthesame
functionality.ThisproblemhassincebeenresolvedintheformofanIPaddresscheckoncurrentlyloggedin
sessions.[92][93]
GermanTechsiteTheHdemonstratedhowtouseWhatsAPItohijackanyWhatsAppaccountonSeptember
14,2012.[94]Shortlyafter,alegalthreattoWhatsAPI'sdeveloperswasalleged,characterizedbyTheHas"an
apparentreaction"tosecurityreports,andWhatsAPI'ssourcecodewastakendownforsomedays.[95]The
WhatsAPIteamhassincereturnedtoactivedevelopment.[96]
OnDecember1,2014,IndrajeetBhuyanandSauravKar,both17yearsold,demonstratedtheWhatsApp
MessageHandlerVulnerability,whichallowsanyonetoremotelycrashWhatsAppjustbysendingaspecially
craftedmessageof2kbinsize.Toescapetheproblem,theuserwhoreceivesthespeciallycraftedmessagehas
todeletehis/herwholeconversationandstartafreshchat,becauseopeningthemessagekeepsoncrashing
WhatsAppunlessthechatisdeletedcompletely.[97]Inearly2015,afterWhatsApplaunchedawebclientthat
canbeusedfromthebrowser,Bhuyanalsofoundthatithadtwosecurityissuesthatcompromiseduserprivacy:
theWhatsAppPhotoPrivacyBugandtheWhatsAppWebPhotoSyncBug.[98][99]
OnMarch2,2016,WhatsAppintroduceditsdocumentsharingfeature,initiallyallowinguserstosharePDF
fileswiththeircontacts.[100]However,WhatsApp'sdefaultstateofautomaticallydownloadingattachments
raisedsomeconcernsinthepressaboutriskandsecurityoncesupportfordocumentsharingexpandedbeyond
PDFfiles.[101]

Privacyconcerns
AmajorprivacyandsecurityproblemhasbeenthesubjectofajointCanadianDutchgovernmentinvestigation.
TheprimaryconcernwasthatWhatsApprequireduserstouploadtheirmobilephone'sentireaddressbookto
WhatsAppserverssothatWhatsAppcoulddiscoverwho,amongtheusers'contacts,wasavailablevia
WhatsApp.Whilethiswasafastandconvenientwaytoquicklyfindandconnecttheuserwithcontactswho
werealsousingWhatsApp,itmeantthattheiraddressbookwasthenmirroredontheWhatsAppservers,
includingcontactinformationforcontactswhowerenotusingWhatsApp.Thisinformation,whichconsisted
solelyofphonenumberswithoutanyadditionalinformationsuchathenameofthecontact,wasstoredin

hashed,thoughnotsalted,form.[102][103][104][105]Late2015,theDutchgovernmentreleasedapressstatement
claimingthatWhatsApphadchangeditshashingmethod,makingitmuchhardertoreverse,andthusnowfully
complieswithallrulesandregulations.[106]
Auserdoesnotneedtosendafriendrequesttosendmessagestoanotheruser,duetothecontactdiscovery
mentionedabove.
InNovember2014,WhatsAppintroducedafeaturenamedReadReceiptswhichalertssenderswhentheir
messagesarereadbyrecipients.Withinaweek,WhatsAppintroducedanupdateallowinguserstodisablethis
featuresothatmessagerecipientsdonotsendacknowledgements.[107]
InFebruary2015,aDutchuniversitystudentnamedMaikelZweerinkpublishedanappthatsetouttoprove
thatanyonecouldtrackaWhatsAppuser'sstatusandalsokeepaneyeoftheirchangingprofilepictures,
privacysettingsorstatusmessagesregardlessoftheirprivacysettings.[108]

Reception
Securityandprivacy
OnMarch31,2013theSaudiArabianCommunicationsandInformationTechnologyCommission(CITC)
issuedastatementregardingpossiblemeasuresagainstWhatsApp,amongotherapplications,unlesstheservice
providerstookseriousstepstocomplywithmonitoringandprivacyregulations.[109]
InFebruary2014,thepublicauthorityfordataprivacyoftheGermanstateofSchleswigHolsteinadvised
againstusingWhatsApp,astheservicelackedprivacyprotectionsuchasendtoendclientsideencryption
technology.[110]WhatsAppstartedimplementingendtoendencryptioninlate2014andfinishedinApril
2016.[13]
FromApril5,2016,endtoendencryptionforallusers'communications,includingfiletransfersandvoice
calls,issupportedforusersofthelatestclient,encryptionbeingenabledbydefault.ItusesCurve25519forkey
exchange,HKDFforgenerationofsessionkeys(AES256inCBCmodeforencryptionandHMACSHA256
forintegrityverification)andSHA512forgeneratingthetwo30digitfingerprintsofbothusers'identitykeys
sotheycanverifyeachotherasneeded.Eventhecompanywouldbeunabletodecryptusers'communications.
AmnestyInternationalandsecurityprofessionalspraisedthemovetheUSFederalBureauofInvestigation
criticiseditasthreateningtheworkoflawenforcement.[111]Telegram,anothermessagingservice,isreported
bytheBBCtobeusedby"IslamicState"extremists.[111]
WhatsAppisnottheonlymessagingservicethatprovidesendtoendencryptionThreema,Wickr,Signal,
SilentPhone,andCryptocatalsoprovidesuchencryptionbydefault.iMessageprovidesitifthecorrespondent
isonlineandalsousinganiPhone,butdoesnotdisplaykeyfingerprintsforverification.[112]TelegramandLine
provideendtoendencryptionifselectedbytheuser,butdonotsupportendtoendencryptedgroup
messaging.[13]
AsofApril5,2016,WhatsApphasascoreof6outof7pointsontheElectronicFrontierFoundation's"Secure
MessagingScorecard".Ithasreceivedpointsforhavingcommunicationsencryptedintransit,having
communicationsencryptedwithkeystheproviderdoesn'thaveaccessto,allowinguserstoverifycontacts'
identities,havingpastmessagessecureiftheencryptionkeysarestolen,havingcompletedarecentindependent
securityaudit,andhavingthesecuritydesignsproperlydocumented.Itismissingapointbecausethecodeis
notopentoindependentreview.[113]
Braziliancourtorders

OnDecember17,2015,mobileprovidersinBrazilwereorderedtoblockWhatsAppfor48hours.Thebanwas
orderedfortheservice'sfailuretocooperatewithcriminalcourtordersinJulyandAugust2015.Thefollowing
morning,however,ajudgefromtheappealscourtorderedthatthebanbeliftedforbeinganunreasonable
response,recommendingthatthecompanybefinedinstead.Followingtheban,butpriortoitsreversal,
FacebookCEOMarkZuckerbergrespondedbystatingthathewas"stunnedthatoureffortstoprotectpeople's
datawouldresultinsuchanextremedecisionbyasinglejudgetopunisheverypersoninBrazilwhouses
WhatsApp.WehopetheBraziliancourtsquicklyreversecourse."ThecompetingserviceTelegramreported
that1.5millionBrazilianshaddownloadeditsappwhiletheWhatsAppbanwasinplace.[114][115]
OnMarch1,2016,DiegoDzodan,Facebook'svicepresidentforLatinAmericawasarrestedinBrazilfornot
cooperatingwithaninvestigationinwhichWhatsAppconversationswererequested.[116]OnMarch2,2016,at
dawnthenextday,DzodanwasreleasedbecausetheCourtofAppealheldthatthearrestwasdisproportionate
andunreasonable.[117]
OnMay2,2016,mobileprovidersinBrazilwereorderedtoblockWhatsAppfor72hoursfortheservice's
secondfailuretocooperatewithcriminalcourtorders.[118][119]Onceagain,theblockwasliftedfollowingan
appeal,afternearly24hours.[120]

Businessmodel
InresponsetotheFacebookacquisitionin2014,SlatecolumnistMatthewYglesiasquestionedwhetherthe
company'sbusinessmodelofchargingusers$1ayearwasviableintheUnitedStatesinthelongterm.Ithad
prosperedbyexploitinga"loophole"inmobilephonecarriers'pricing."Mobilephoneoperatorsaren'treally
sellingconsumerssomevoiceservice,somedataservice,andsomeSMSservice",heexplained."Theyare
sellingaccesstothenetwork.Thedifferentpricingschemestheycomeupwitharejustdifferentwaysoftrying
tomaximizethevaluetheyextractfromconsumers."[121]Aspartofthat,carrierssoldSMSseparately.That
madeiteasyforWhatsApptofindawaytoreplicateSMSusingdata,andthensellthattomobilecustomersfor
$1ayear."ButifWhatsAppgetsbigenough,thencarrierstrategyisgoingtochange",hepredicted."Youstop
sellingseparateSMSplansandjusthaveatakeitorleaveitoverallpackage.AndthensuddenlyWhatsApp
isn'tdoinganything."[121]ThesituationmayhavebeendifferentincountriesotherthantheUnitedStates.
OnJanuary18,2016,WhatsApp'sfounderJanKoumannouncedthattheservicewouldnolongerchargetheir
usersa$1annualsubscriptionfeeinanefforttoremoveabarrierfacedbysomeuserswhodonothaveacredit
cardtopayfortheservice.[46][47]Healsoexplainedthattheappwouldnotdisplayanythirdparty
advertisementandinsteadwouldbringnewfeaturessuchastheabilitytocommunicatewithbusiness
organizations.[12][48]

Competitionandshares
CompetingwithanumberofAsianbasedmessagingservices(likeWeChat(468millionactiveusers),Viber
(209millionactiveusers[122])andLINE(170millionactiveusers[123])),WhatsApphandledtenbillion
messagesperdayinAugust2012,[124]growingfromtwobillioninApril2012,[125]andonebilliontheprevious
October.[126]OnJune13,2013,WhatsAppannouncedthattheyhadreachedtheirnewdailyrecordby
processing27billionmessages.[127]AccordingtotheFinancialTimes,WhatsApp"hasdonetoSMSonmobile
phoneswhatSkypedidtointernationalcallingonlandlines."[128]
InApril2014,WhatsAppcrossedhalfabillionusermark.[129]
AsofMay2014,WhatsApphadcrossed50millionmonthlyactiveusersinIndia,whichisalsoitslargest
countrybythenumberofmonthlyactiveusers.[130]

AsofOctober2014,WhatsApphascrossed70millionmonthlyactiveusersinIndia,whichis10%ofitstotal
userbase(700MM).[131]
AsofFebruary2016,WhatsApphadover1billionusersglobally.[132]

Seealso
Comparisonofinstantmessagingclients
ComparisonofVoIPsoftware
ListofmostdownloadedAndroidapplications
Listofvirtualcommunitieswithmorethan100millionactiveusers

References
1.WhatsAppInc.(n.d.)."WhatsAppforAndroid".WhatsApp.com.WhatsAppInc.Retrieved2June2016.
2.WhatsAppInc.(26May2016)."WhatsAppMessenger".GooglePlay.Google.Retrieved2June2016.
3.WhatsAppInc.(3March2016)."WhatsAppMessenger".BlackBerryWorld.BlackBerry.Retrieved12April2016.
4.WhatsAppInc.(2April2016)."WhatsAppMessenger".AppStore.Apple.Retrieved2April2016.
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