Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Phones
  3. Mobile
  4. Social Media
  5. Legacy Archives

WhatsApp hits 600 million active users

By
Add as a preferred source on Google

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]

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)…
Topics
I went hands-on with Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra. It’s peak foldable in an old garb. 
It may not look like a fresh start, but underneath the familiar chassis, there's plenty of thoughtful engineering tweaks.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra

Samsung just wrapped up its glitzy Unpacked event, revealing three new foldable phones and a pair of smartwatches. While my heart flutters for the pocketable Galaxy Z Fold 8, it’s the Ultra variant that truly feels like a refinement. Interestingly, when you look at the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra for the first time, you might mistake it for the Galaxy Z Fold 7.

Both of them look identical, and Samsung has not made any visible changes on the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra for it to stand out from its predecessor. Color options, obviously, are fresh this time around, but there are a few changes that have been made under the hood, and they make this phone feel like a practically rewarding iteration.

Read more
Fold 8 Ultra vs. Fold 7: Upgrades across the board, but is the Ultra really worth the upgrade?
From battery capacity to camera hardware, here's a full comparison between the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra and Galaxy Z Fold 7, and whether upgrading actually makes sense.
Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra vs. Fold 7

Foldables age differently than regular smartphones or flagships. But why do I say this? It's the hinge and the foldable aspect that wins buyers over in the first place, not the specifications that get outdated every single year. That's precisely why anyone still carrying last year's Galaxy Z Fold 7 is asking a fair question today: does Samsung's freshly unveiled Z Fold 8 Ultra genuinely earn an upgrade, or does the Fold 7 still hold its ground?

And for shoppers who skipped last year's model entirely and are weighing their first foldable purchase, the calculus is totally different. A now-discounted Fold 7 might undercut the Ultra by a considerable sum, and that could matter to those looking to spend on the form factor, not the latest specifications. 

Read more
Samsung makes it easier to run multiple apps on Galaxy Z Flip 8’s cover screen
Samsung's Galaxy Z Flip 8 now runs 16 apps on its cover screen.
Galaxy Z Flip 8 cover display

Samsung is finally making the Galaxy Z Flip's cover screen much more useful. With the new Galaxy Z Flip 8, you no longer have to rely on workarounds to access more apps without unfolding the phone. Instead, Samsung has expanded native support on the FlexWindow, allowing 16 apps to run directly on the outer display and also making it much easier to launch virtually any other app.

The update addresses one of the biggest complaints Flip users have had for years and brings Samsung up to the level of rivals like Motorola, whose Razr series has long offered a more flexible cover screen experience.

Read more