WhatsApp (officially WhatsApp Messenger) is an instant messaging (IM) and voice-over-IP (VoIP) service owned by technology conglomerate Meta. It allows users to send text, voice messages and video messages, make voice and video calls, and share images, documents, user locations, and other content. WhatsApp's client application runs on mobile devices, and can be accessed from computers. The service requires a cellular mobile telephone number to sign up. In January 2018, WhatsApp released a standalone business app called WhatsApp Business which can communicate with the standard WhatsApp client.
| Original author(s) | Brian Acton, Jan Koum | ||||||||
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| Developer(s) | Meta Platforms, Will Cathcart (Head of WhatsApp) | ||||||||
| Initial release | February 2009 | ||||||||
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| Written in | Erlang | ||||||||
| Operating system | Android, iOS, iPadOS, KaiOS, macOS, Windows, Windows Phone, Wear OS, Web, Meta Quest (The latter two require one-time verification from the mobile app client.) | ||||||||
| Size | 183.7 MB (iOS) 78.6 MB (Android) | ||||||||
| Available in | 40 (iOS) and 60 (Android) languages | ||||||||
| Type | Instant messaging, VoIP | ||||||||
| License | Proprietary software with EULA "European Region" "others" | ||||||||
| Website | whatsapp | ||||||||
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The service was created by WhatsApp Inc. of Mountain View, California, which was acquired by Facebook in February 2014 for approximately US$19.3 billion. It became the world's most popular messaging application by 2015, and had more than 2 billion users worldwide by February 2020. 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.