WhatsApp is a social media cross-platform for Voice over IP and messaging. It allows its users to make voice calls, video calls, send text messages and voice messages. It also shares documents, user’s locations, images, and other media. WhatsApp is accessible on desktop computers and mobile phones as long as the device remains connected to the device. The platform was developed by Jan Koum and Brian Acton, who were former employees of Yahoo. It was developed in January 2009 and amalgamated in February 2009 in California.
In February 2014, the platform was acquired by Facebook at US$ 19 billion. Facebook has later developed to be the most used social media platform. It became the most primary means of electronic communication in multiple locations and countries, hence gaining 2 billion users by 2020.
The real owners of WhatsApp
Facebook has been the actual owner of WhatsApp since February 2014. It was the largest acquisition of a scheme-backed company. During this moment, WhatsApp users faced the loss of service, leading to anger across social media. This affected many users forcing some to move to other platforms that offer messaging services.
Facebooks CEO Mark Zuckerberg developed the idea of developing free-of-charge basic internet services. WhatsApp voice calls were later introduced after its purchase by Facebook. However, smartphones were later introduced with a WhatsApp brand.
In 2014 gained more than 600 million users being the most used app globally. It had 700 million monthly users and 30 billion messages daily in early January 2015. In 2016, users were allowed to use their email addresses for further protection. This was made possible by the introduction of the beta version of two-step verification. WhatsApp has a large number of funs compared to Twitter, Snapchat, and Skype.
The founders of WhatsApp
WhatsApp was originally founded by Jan Koum and Brian Acton.
Jan Koum
Jan Koum is a Ukrainian American computer programmer and entrepreneur. He was the CEO and co-founder of WhatsApp, which was later acquired by Facebook. He met with his co-founder Brian Acton in 1997 while working as a security tester at Ernst and Young. Koum was later hired by Yahoo as an infrastructure engineer in 1997.
He bought a new iPhone in 2009 and discovered that the app store had a messaging app space. He later connected with Russian mobile developer Igor solomennikov, who started development on the mobile phone app. Koum named the app WhatsApp from the phrase ‘what’s up,’ which was released in 2009.
WhatsApp was later sold to Facebook. He was among the board of directors at Facebook for 4years and later stepped down in 2018. Jan participates in charity work, where he supports technological development and providing for different communities. He donated almost $1.5 million to The FreeBSD Foundation and approximately $556 million dollars to the Silicon Valley Community Foundation.
Brian Acton
Brian is a co-founder of WhatsApp. He is also a computer programmer and internet entrepreneur from America. Brian graduated from Stanford University as a computer scientist. He started his career at Rockwell International as a system administrator. He also worked with Yahoo, Apple, and Adobe Systems.
About WhatsApp and its features
WhatsApp is an essential part of daily lives in most parts of the globe. The app is one of the easiest popular messaging apps. It also allows its users to make voice and video calls. However, it is especially known among family and friends who stay in different countries and want to keep in touch. WhatsApp’s features of simplicity, straightforward features, and accessibility have contributed to its popularity.
WhatsApp features
1. Format the text to add some verve to your messages
Special characters are added before and after a text to be formatted. WhatsApp lets you italicize, strikethrough, and bold the text on the fly.
2. Star a message for reference
Starred messages create an easier way to retrieve an important message, address, and phone number send to the account.
3. Make messages disappear
WhatsApp has a setting that allows messages to disappear on specific conversations,
4. View message details
The platform enables one to view the time the message was delivered and read. The details can be viewed by long pressing on the message, then tap on the Info showed on the menu
5. Clear out storage
WhatsApp makes it easier to delete large files occupying large storage space on the phone.
6. Hide your last seen messages
The app setting enables you to choose who to see you’re last seen. You open settings, account, and privacy, last seen, and then choose on either nobody, everyone, and my contacts.
7. Disable read messages
This helps the users to prevent fellow users from knowing they have read their messages.
8. Receive custom notifications
It helps one to know who messages them without looking at the phone. This is enabled by setting each contact with its custom alert.
9. WhatsApp on computer
WhatsApp Mac apps, web version and PC make it easy to use WhatsApp on a computer.
10. Mute conversation
WhatsApp has features that help silence a group conversation. To mute conversation, one long press on a chat, then tap on the icon of the cross-out speaker at the top of the screen.
11. Do not save video and photos
WhatsApp enables saving space on the phone by using a disable autosave feature.
Frequently asked questions about whatsapp
1. Can one recover deleted messages on WhatsApp?
Deleted messages can be easily retrieved, as long as you have backup data on Google account or iCloud.
2. Can blocked contacts see my display picture?
Blocked contacts cannot view displayed pictures unless they are unblocked. However, you can still view their profile pictures.
3. Which businesses can use WhatsApp?
The business of all sizes provides direct communication to their customers. They also ensure an efficient customer experience and prompt support.
4. How does WhatsApp make money?
WhatsApp charges $0.99 after a one year of free subscription. It has over 700 million users; this enables them to make over $700 million, where each user pays about $1.
5. How does WhatsApp work?
WhatsApp messages are sent and received to and from other users by the use of the phone’s internet connection. Regardless of the location, the sender, and the receiver.
6. What is WhatsApp?
It is a Facebook-owned and a mobile phone app for messaging services. It uses a phone’s internet connection to chat with other WhatsApp users.