WhatsApp Messenger, or simply WhatsApp

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WhatsApp Messenger, or simply WhatsApp, is an American freeware, cross-platform centralized instant messaging (IM) and voice-over-IP (VoIP) service owned by Meta Platforms.[12] It allows users to send text messages and voice messages,[13] make voice and video calls, and share images, documents, user locations, and other content.[14][15] WhatsApp's client application runs on mobile devices but is also accessible from desktop computers, as long as the user's mobile device remains connected to the Internet while they use the desktop app.[16] The service requires a cellular mobile telephone number to sign up.[17] In January 2018, WhatsApp released a standalone business app targeted at small business owners, called WhatsApp Business, to allow companies to communicate with customers who use the standard WhatsApp client.[18][19]

The client application was created byWhatsApp Inc. of Mountain View, California, which was acquired by Facebook in February 2014 for approximately US$19.3 billion.[20][21] It became the world's most popular messaging application by 2015,[22][23] and had more than 2 billion users worldwide by February 2020.[24] By 2016 it had become the primary means of Internet communication in regions including Latin America, the Indian subcontinent, and large parts of Europe and Africa.[22] تحميل واتساب
WhatsApp was founded by Brian Acton and Jan Koum, former employees of Yahoo!.

In January 2009, after purchasing an iPhone and realizing the potential of the app industry on the App Store, Koum and Acton began visiting Koum's friend Alex Fishman in West San Jose to discuss a new type of messaging app that would show "statuses next to individual names of the people".[60] They realized that to take the idea further, they would need an iPhone developer. Fishman visited RentACoder.com, found Russian developer Igor Solomennikov, and introduced him to Koum.

Koum named the app WhatsApp to sound like "what's up". On February 24, 2009, he incorporated[61] WhatsApp Inc. in California. However, when early versions of WhatsApp kept crashing, Koum considered giving up and looking for a new job. Acton encouraged him to wait for a "few more months".[60]

In June 2009, Apple launched push notifications, allowing users to be pinged when they were not using an app. Koum changed WhatsApp so that everyone in the user's network would be notified when a user's status is changed.[25] WhatsApp 2.0 was released with a messaging component and the number of active users suddenly increased to 250,000. Although Acton was working on another startup idea, he decided to join the company.[25] In October 2009, Acton persuaded five former friends at Yahoo! to invest $250,000 in seed funding, and Acton became a co-founder and was given a stake. He officially joined WhatsApp on November 1.[25] After months at beta stage, the application launched in November 2009, exclusively on the App Store for the iPhone. Koum then hired a friend in Los Angeles, Chris Peiffer, to develop a BlackBerry version, which arrived two months later.[25] Subsequently, WhatsApp for Symbian OS was added in May 2010, and for Android OS in August 2010.[62] In 2010, WhatsApp was subject to multiple acquisition offers from Google which were declined. واتساب عمر

To cover the cost of sending verification texts to users, WhatsApp was changed from a free service to a paid one. In December 2009, the ability to send photos was added to the iOS version. By early 2011, WhatsApp was one of the top 20 apps in Apple's U.S. App Store.[25]

In April 2011, Sequoia Capital invested about $8 million for more than 15% of the company, after months of negotiation by Sequoia partner Jim Goetz.[64][65][66]

By February 2013, WhatsApp had about 200 million active users and 50 staff members. Sequoia invested another $50 million, and WhatsApp was valued at $1.5 billion.[25] Sometime in 2013,[67] WhatsApp acquired Santa Clara based startup, SkyMobius, the developers of Vtok,[68] a video and voice calling app.[69]

In a December 2013 blog post, WhatsApp claimed that 400 million active users used the service each month.[70]

Facebook subsidiary (2014–present)
On February 19, 2014, just one year after a venture capital financing round at a $1.5 billion valuation,[71] Facebook, Inc. (now Meta Platforms) announced it was acquiring WhatsApp for US$19 billion, its largest acquisition to date.[21] At the time, it was the largest acquisition of a venture-backed company in history.[20] Sequoia Capital received an approximate 5000% return on its initial investment.[72] Facebook, which was advised by Allen & Co, paid $4 billion in cash, $12 billion in Facebook shares, and (advised by Morgan Stanley) an additional $3 billion in restricted stock units granted to WhatsApp's founders Koum and Acton.[73] Employee stock was scheduled to vest over four years subsequent to closing.[21] Days after the announcement, WhatsApp users experienced a loss of service, leading to anger across social media.[74]

The acquisition was influenced by the data provided by Onavo, Facebook's research app for monitoring competitors and trending usage of social activities on mobile phones, as well as startups that are performing "unusually well".[75][76][77]

The acquisition caused a considerable number of users to try and/or move to other message services. Telegram claimed that it acquired 8 million new users;[78] and Line, 2 million.[79]

At a keynote presentation at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in February 2014, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that Facebook's acquisition of WhatsApp was closely related to the Internet.org vision.[80][81] A TechCrunch article said this about Zuckerberg's vision:

The idea, he said, is to develop a group of basic internet services that would be free of charge to use – 'a 911 for the internet.' These could be a social networking service like Facebook, a messaging service, maybe search and other things like weather. Providing a bundle of these free of charge to users will work like a gateway drug of sorts – users who may be able to afford data services and phones these days just don't see the point of why they would pay for those data services. This would give them some context for why they are important, and that will lead them to pay for more services like this – or so the hope goes.[80]

Just three days after announcing the Facebook purchase, Koum said they were working to introduce voice calls. He also said that new mobile phones would be sold in Germany with the WhatsApp brand and that their ultimate goal was to be on all smartphones.[82]

In August 2014, WhatsApp was the most globally popular messaging app, with more than 600 million users.[83] By early January 2015, WhatsApp had 700 million monthly users and over 30 billion messages every day.[84] In April 2015, Forbes predicted that between 2012 and 2018, the telecommunications industry would lose $386 billion because of OTT services like WhatsApp and Skype.[85] That month, WhatsApp had over 800 million users.[86][87] By September 2015, it had grown to 900 million;[88] and by February 2016, one billion.[89]

Voice calls between two accounts were added to the app in March and April 2015.[90]

On November 30, 2015, the Android WhatsApp client made links to another message service, Telegram, unclickable and uncopyable.[91][92][93] Multiple sources confirmed that it was intentional, not a bug,[93] and that it had been implemented when the Android source code that recognized Telegram URLs had been identified.[93] (The word "telegram" appeared in WhatsApp's code.[93]) Some considered it an anti-competitive measure,[91][92][93] but WhatsApp offered no explanation.

Recent (2016–present)
On January 18, 2016, WhatsApp's co-founder Jan Koum announced that it would no longer charge users a $1 annual subscription fee, in an effort to remove a barrier faced by users without credit cards.[94][95] He also said that the app would not display any third-party ads, and that it would have new features such as the ability to communicate with businesses.[89][96]

By June 2016, the company's blog reported more than 100 million voice calls per day were being placed on GbWhatsapp[97]

On November 10, 2016, WhatsApp launched a beta version of two-step verification for Android users, which allowed them to use their email addresses for further protection.[98] Also in November 2016, Facebook ceased collecting WhatsApp data for advertising in Europe.[99] Later that month, video calls between two accounts were introduced.[100]

On February 24, 2017, (WhatsApp's 8th birthday), WhatsApp launched a new Status feature similar to Snapchat and Facebook stories.[101]

On May 18, 2017, it was reported that the European Commission would fine Facebook €110 million for "misleading" it during the 2014 takeover of WhatsApp. The Commission alleged that in 2014 when Facebook acquired the messaging app, it "falsely claimed it was technically impossible to automatically combine user information from Facebook and WhatsApp." However, in the summer of 2016, WhatsApp had begun sharing user information with its parent company, allowing information such as phone numbers to be used for targeted Facebook advertisements. Facebook acknowledged the breach, but said the errors in their 2014 filings were "not intentional".[99]

In September 2017, WhatsApp's co-founder Brian Acton left the company to start a nonprofit group,[102] later revealed as the Signal Foundation, which developed the WhatsApp competitor Signal.[103] WhatsApp also announced a forthcoming business platform to enable companies to provide customer service at scale,[104] and airlines KLM and Aeroméxico announced their participation in the testing.[105][106][107][108] Both airlines previously launched customer services on the Facebook Messenger platform.

In January 2018, WhatsApp launched WhatsApp Business for small business use.[109]

In April 2018, WhatsApp co-founder and CEO Jan Koum announced he would be leaving the company.[110] Facebook later announced that Koum's replacement would be Chris Daniels.[111]

Later in September 2018, WhatsApp introduced group audio and video call features.[112][113] In October, the "Swipe to Reply" option was added to the Android beta version, 16 months after it was introduced for iOS.[114]

On October 25, 2018, WhatsApp announced support for Stickers. But unlike other platforms WhatsApp requires third-party apps to add Stickers to WhatsApp.[115]

On November 25, 2019, WhatsApp announced an investment of $250,000 into the startup ecosystem through a partnership with Startup India to provide 500 startups with Facebook ad credits of $500 each.[116]

In December 2019, WhatsApp announced that a new update would lock out any Apple users who hadn't updated to iOS 9 or higher and Samsung, Huawei, Sony and Google users who hadn't updated to version 4.0 by February 1, 2020. The company also reported that Windows Phone operating systems would no longer be supported after December 31, 2019.[117] WhatsApp was announced to be the 3rd most downloaded mobile app of the decade from 2010 to 2019.[118]

In early 2020, WhatsApp launched its "dark mode" for iPhone and Android devices – a new design consisting of a darker palette.[119] In March, WhatsApp partnered with the World Health Organization and UNICEF to provide messaging hotlines for people to get information on the 2019-2020 coronavirus pandemic.[120] That same month, WhatsApp began testing a feature to help users find out more information and context about information they receive.[121][clarification needed]

In October 2020, Whatsapp rolled out a feature allowing users to mute both individuals and group chats forever. The mute chat settings now show ‘8 hours', ‘1 week', and ‘Always' options. The ‘Always' option replaces the ‘1 year' option that was originally part of the settings.[122][123]

In January 2021, WhatsApp announced a new Privacy Policy which users would be forced to accept by February 8, 2021, or stop using the app. The policy would allow WhatsApp to share data with its parent company, Facebook. The policy does not apply in the EU, since it violates the principles of GDPR.[124][125] Facing a pushback about Facebook data sharing and lack of clarity, WhatsApp postponed the update to May 15, 2021,[126][127] but announced they have no plans to limit the functionality of the app for those who don't approve the new terms or to give them persistent reminders to do so.[128]

On March 1, 2021, WhatsApp started rolling out support for third-party animated stickers in Iran, Brazil and Indonesia.[129] On March 24, 2021, WhatsApp launched third-party animated stickers worldwide.[130]

In July 2021 WhatsApp announced the development of an Android beta version update supporting the sending of uncompressed images and videos in 3 options: Auto, Best Quality and Data Saver.[131] The same month, the Android beta enabled end-to-end encryption for cloud backups, stored in Facebook's cloud. The backup is locked by a passcode and 64-digit recovery key and cannot be accessed without them.[132] The company is also testing multi-device support, which would allow users to launch WhatsApp on their desktop devices without keeping their phone session active.[133]

On October 4, 2021, Facebook had its worst outage since 2008. The outage also affected other platforms owned by Facebook, such as Instagram and WhatsApp.[134][135] Security experts identified the problem as possibly being DNS-related.[136]

In December 2021, it was reported that واتساب بلس started hiding users' online status, called "Last Seen" in the app from people that are not in the user's contacts or that the user has not had a conversation with yet. The option is set by default but can be changed to allow all contacts to see a user's online status.[137]

2019 lawsuit
Main article: WhatsApp snooping scandal
In May 2019, WhatsApp was attacked by hackers who installed spyware on a number of victims' smartphones.[138] The hack, allegedly developed by Israeli surveillance technology firm NSO Group, injected malware onto WhatsApp users’ phones via a remote-exploit bug in the app's Voice over IP calling functions. A Wired report noted the attack was able to inject malware via calls to the targeted phone, even if the user did not answer the call.[139] On October 29, WhatsApp filed a lawsuit against NSO Group in a San Francisco court, claiming that the alleged cyberattack violated US laws including the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA).[140] According to WhatsApp, the exploit "targeted at least 100 human-rights defenders, journalists and other members of civil society" among a total of 1,400 users in 20 countries.[141][142][2]

Platform support
After months at beta stage, the official first release of WhatsApp launched in November 2009, exclusively at the App Store for iPhone. In January 2010, support for BlackBerry smartphones was added; and subsequently for Symbian OS in May 2010, and for Android OS in August 2010. In August 2011, a beta for Nokia's non-smartphone OS Series 40 was added. A month later, support for Windows Phone was added, followed by BlackBerry 10 in March 2013.[143] In April 2015, support for Samsung's Tizen OS was added.[144] The oldest device capable of running WhatsApp was the Symbian-based Nokia N95 released in March 2007. (As of June 2017, WhatsApp is no longer compatible with it.)

In August 2014, WhatsApp released an Android update, adding support for Android Wear smartwatches.[145]

On January 21, 2015, WhatsApp launched WhatsApp Web, a browser-based web client that could be used by syncing with a mobile device's connection.[146]

On February 26, 2016, WhatsApp announced they would cease support for BlackBerry (including BlackBerry 10), Nokia Series 40, and Symbian S60,[147][148] as well as older versions of Android (2.2), Windows Phone (7.0), and iOS (6), by the end of 2016.[149] BlackBerry, Nokia Series 40, and Symbian support was then extended to June 30, 2017.[150] In June 2017, support for BlackBerry and Series 40 was once again extended until the end of 2017, while Symbian was dropped.[151]

Support for BlackBerry and older (version 8.0) Windows Phone and older (version 6) iOS devices was dropped on January 1, 2018, but was extended to December 2018 for Nokia Series 40.[152] In July 2018, it was announced that WhatsApp would soon be available for KaiOS feature phones.[153][154]

In October 2019, WhatsApp officially launched a new fingerprint app-locking feature for Android users.[155]

In August 2021, WhatsApp launched a feature that allows for chat history to be transferred between mobile operating systems. The feature launched only on the Samsung phones with plans to expand to Android and iOS in the future.[156]

WhatsApp Web
WhatsApp was officially made available for PCs through a web client, under the name WhatsApp Web,[157] in late January 2015 through an announcement made by Koum on his Facebook page: "Our web client is simply an extension of your phone: the web browser mirrors conversations and messages from your mobile device—this means all of your messages still live on your phone". As of January 21, 2015, the desktop version was only available to Android, BlackBerry, and Windows Phone users. Later on, it also added support for iOS, Nokia Series 40, and Nokia S60 (Symbian).[158][159] Previously the WhatsApp user's handset had to be connected to the Internet for the browser application to function but as of an update on October 2021 that is no longer the case.[160] All major desktop browsers are supported except for Internet Explorer. WhatsApp Web's user interface is based on the default Android one and can be accessed through web.whatsapp.com. Access is granted after the users scan their personal QR code through their mobile WhatsApp application.

There are similar solutions for macOS, such as the open-source ChitChat, previously known as WhatsMac.[161][162][163]

In January 2021, the limited Android beta version allowed users to use WhatsApp Web without having to keep the mobile app connected to the Internet. In March 2021, this beta feature was extended to iOS users.[164] However, linked devices (using WhatsApp Web, WhatsApp Desktop or Facebook Portal) will become disconnected if people don't use their phone for over 14 days.[165] The multi-device beta can only show messages for the last 3 months on the web version, which was not the case without the beta because the web version was syncing with the phone.[166]

Microsoft Windows and Mac
On May 10, 2016, the messaging service was introduced for both Microsoft Windows and macOS operating systems. Recently, WhatsApp added support for video calls and voice calls from their desktop clients. Similar to the WhatsApp Web format, the app, which will be synced with a user's mobile device, is available for download on the website. It supports OS versions of Windows 8 and OS X 10.10 and higher.[167][168][169]

Apple iPad
A story circulated in 2019 that iPad support was coming.[170] However, as of May 2021, WhatsApp does not run on the iPad.[171]

iPad users searching for WhatsApp are shown numerous third-party clients. Several top results have names and logos resembling WhatsApp itself, and some users do not realize they are using a third-party client. Per WhatsApp's policy, using third-party clients can result in the account getting permanently banned.[172]

Technical
WhatsApp uses a customized version of the open standard Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP).[173] Upon installation, it creates a user account using one's phone number as the username (Jabber ID: [phone number]@s.whatsapp.net).

WhatsApp software automatically compares all the phone numbers from the device's address book with its central database of WhatsApp users to automatically add contacts to the user's WhatsApp contact list. Previously the Android and Nokia Series 40 versions used an MD5-hashed, reversed-version of the phone's IMEI as password,[174] while the iOS version used the phone's Wi-Fi MAC address instead of IMEI.[175][176] A 2012 update now generates a random password on the server side.[177] Alternatively a user can send to any contact in WhatsApp database through the url https:// api.whatsapp.com/send/?phone=[phone number] where [phone number] is the number of the contact including the country code.

Some dual-SIM devices may not be compatible with WhatsApp, though there are some workarounds for this.[178]

In February 2015, WhatsApp introduced a voice calling feature; this helped WhatsApp to attract a completely different segment of the user population.[179][180] WhatsApp's voice codec is Opus,[181][182][183] which uses the modified discrete cosine transform (MDCT) and linear predictive coding (LPC) audio compression algorithms.[184] WhatsApp uses Opus at 8–16 kHz sampling rates.[181][183] On November 14, 2016, WhatsApp added a video calling feature for users across Android, iPhone, and Windows Phone devices.[185][186]

In November 2017, WhatsApp released a new feature that would let its users delete messages sent by mistake within a time frame of 7 minutes.[187]

Multimedia messages are sent by uploading the image, audio or video to be sent to an HTTP server and then sending a link to the content along with its Base64 encoded thumbnail (if applicable).[188]

WhatsApp follows a "store and forward" mechanism for exchanging messages between two users. When a user sends a message, it first travels to the WhatsApp server where it is stored. Then the server repeatedly requests the receiver to acknowledge receipt of the message. As soon as the message is acknowledged, the server drops the message; it is no longer available in the database of the server. The WhatsApp server keeps the message only for 30 days in its database when it is not delivered (when the receiver is not active on WhatsApp for 30 days).[189][self-published source?]