Here are the most interesting WhatsApp statistics and facts I have dug up over the years. It should give you a snapshot off what exactly Zuck and crew dished out all that money for. As always, I’ll be adding and updating as new statistics pop up along the way.
One stat post that I have been meaning to put together for quite some time is WhatsApp. The chat app has only been around for a few years, but has certainly racked up some staggering usage statistics and download totals.
WhatsApp began by a couple of ex-Yahoo! employees, Jan Koum and Brian Acton, who couldn’t get a job at Facebook. They decided to develop a simple messaging app for the new iPhone ecosystem and named it WhatsApp. Ironically, in 2014, WhatsApp was purchased for $19 billion by the same Facebook that wouldn’t hire Koum and Acton.
WhatsApp’s user base and popularity has grown exponentially since those early days of the iPhone. The app is now available on all major mobile and desktop platforms and has over 1 billion users. With so many users, there are countless interesting facts about WhatsApp worth noting. Here you go….
WhatsApp Facts
- WhatsApp Website: whatsapp.com
- WhatsApp Launch Year: 2009
- WhatsApp Founders: Brian Acton and Jan Koum
- WhatsApp Headquarters: Mountain View, CA
- WhatsApp CEO: Chris Daniels
- WhatsApp Parent Company: Facebook
- WhatsApp Apps: iOS | Android | Windows | Mac OS X
- Number of WhatsApp Employees: 120 employees (Last updated 1/18/16)
What is WhatsApp?
With WhatsApp, you’ll get fast, simple, secure messaging and calling for free, available on phones all over the world. (source)
WhatsApp History
- 2009 – WhatApp is incorporated and launched
- 2010 – WhatsApp launches for Android
- 2013 – Voice messaging added to WhatsApp
- 2014 – Facebook acquires WhatsApp
- 2016 – WhatsApp ditches the $1 subscription fee and becomes a free app
- 2016 – WhatsApp desktop launches
WhatsApp Statistics
How many people use WhatsApp?
Last updated 1/31/18
How many people use WhatsApp Status:
450 million daily active users
Last updated 5/1/18
Average number of daily voice calls made on WhatsApp:
100 million voice calls on WhatsApp per day
Last updated 6/23/16
Amount time spent by WhatsApp users making calls on it each day:
Last updated 7/31/18
Average number of WhatsApp video calls made daily:
Last updated 5/9/17
Average number of WhatsApp video call minutes used per day:
Last updated 5/1/18
Percentage of monthly WhatsApp users that use it daily:
Last updated 2/20/14
Number of daily active WhatsApp users:
1 billion daily active WhatsApp users
Last updated 7/26/17
Number of messages sent via WhatsApp daily:
Last updated 5/18/18
Total number of WhatsApp groups:
Last updated 2/1/16
Number of languages supported by WhatsApp:
Last updated 7/26/17
Percentage of WhatsApp Android app installs that are uninstalled:
6.2% (Least uninstalled Android app)
Last updated 3/7/16
Number of video messages sent via WhatsApp daily:
1 billion video messages per day
Last updated 7/26/17
Number of photos shared via WhatsApp daily:
Last updated 7/26/17
Amount that Facebook bought WhatsApp for:
$19 billion
Amount that Google reportedly offered to buy WhatsApp for:
Estimated number of WhatsApp users in China:
2 million WhatsApp users in China
Last updated 7/19/17
Number of WhatsApp users in Brazil:
Last updated 4/4/19
Number of WhatsApp users in India:
400 million WhatsApp users in India
Last updated 7/25/19
Top country for WhatsApp video calling usage:
Last updated 5/9/17
Average amount of time Indians collectively spend making WhatsApp video calls daily:
Last updated 5/9/17
Number of WhatsApp active users when Facebook acquired them:
450 million monthly active users
WhatsApp’s busiest day ever:
New Year’s Ever 2016 (63 billion messages)
Last updated 1/7/17
Number of WhatsApp messages sent on New Years Eve 2017:
Number of countries that WhatsApp is banned in:
Last updated 1/5/17
Number of countries WhatsApp is used in:
Last updated 2/3/18
Number of companies using WhatsApp for Business:
Last updated 7/25/19
Number of WhatsApp users in the Netherlands:
Last updated 2/27/17
Percentage of all WhatsApp users that rely on it for news:
Last updated 6/25/17
Percentage of WhatsApp users in Brazil that rely on it for news:
Last updated 6/25/17
Percentage of WhatsApp users in Hong Kong that rely on it for news:
Last updated 6/25/17
Average number of fake accounts WhatsApp bans per month:
Last updated 2/6/19
Number of voice messages sent via WhatsApp daily:
Last updated 2/20/14
Average amount of time users spend on WhatsApp weekly:
Last updated 1/3/14
Average amount of monthly messages sent by WhatsApp users:
Last updated 2/21/14
Number of messages received via WhatsApp daily:
Last updated 2/20/14
Percentage of WhatsApp users that access it via an Android device:
73%
Last updated 8/27/15
Percentage of WhatsApp users that access it via an iOS device:
Last updated 8/27/15
Percentage of WhatsApp users that access it via a Windows Phone:
Last updated 8/27/15
Number of times WhatsApp has been installed on an Android device:
Last updated 3/12/15
Average amount of monthly messages received by WhatsApp users:
Last updated 2/21/14
Average amount of monthly photos uploaded by WhatsApp users:
Last updated 2/21/14
WhatsApp’s share of overall selfies shared on social media:
Last updated 3/16/14
Number of WhatsApp employees:
Last updated 1/18/16
WhatsApp’s mobile app user growth from Dec ’13-May ’14:
Average number of new WhatsApp users that register daily:
Last updated 2/20/14
Percentage of teens in Germany that use WhatsApp:
Last updated 9/11/15
Percentage of global internet users in China that use Whatsapp:
Last updated 10/9/15
Percentage of Argentinian mobile phone internet users that use WhatsApp:
Last updated 9/17/14
Percentage of social messaging users in Ireland that use WhatsApp:
Last updated 9/1/14
Number of Indian languages WhatsApp supports:
Last updated 5/9/17
Percentage of internet users in India that use Whats App:
Last updated 10/9/15
Percentage of smartphones in India that have WhatsApp installed on them:
Last updated 3/11/16
Percentage of mobile web users in the UK that use WhatsApp:
Last updated 10/24/14
Percentage of mothers in the UK that use messaging apps that use WhatsApp:
Last updated 10/24/14
WhatsApp’s revenue for the first half of 2014:
WhatsApp’s 2013 revenue:
WhatsApp’s 2012 revenue:
WhatsApp’s record for most messages processed in a day:
Last updated 4/2/14
Percentage of Italian divorces that cite WhatsApp as evidence of unfaithfulness:
Last updated 11/10/14
Percentage of iPhone users in Italy that use WhatsApp monthly:
Last updated 11/10/14
Percentage of Indonesian smartphone users that use WhatsApp daily:
Last updated 11/13/14
Average number of minutes that Indonesian WhatsApp users spend on it daily:
Last updated 11/13/14
Percentage of US Internet users, aged 14-17 (teens) that use WhatsApp:
Last updated 10/21/14
WhatsApp’s share of the APAC messaging apps market:
Last updated 11/27/14
Percentage of people in Finland that use WhatsApp:
Last updated 1/20/15
Percentage of UK teens (11-16 year olds) that use WhatsApp weekly:
Last updated 3/18/15
Percentage off female social media users in Spain that consider WhatsApp their primary social media platform:
Last updated September 2015
Percentage of Social Media users in the Middle East that use WhatsApp:
Last updated 4/20/15
Top country for WhatsApp usage (based on % of usage by online adults in each market):
Last updated 9/4/15
Percentage of smartphone owners in Brazil that consider WhatsApp one of their top ten most used mobile apps:
Last updated 5/22/15
Percentage of Brazil’s internet population that uses WhatsApp (before the court-ordered shutdown):
Last updated 12/16/15
Percentage of millennials that use WhatsApp globally (outside of China):
Last updated 2/11/15
This report is available in an annual industry report. Some of the data in industry reports include:
- WhatsApp Users
- Demographical Information
- Message Sharing Data
- Geographical Information
- Video and Other Usage Data
- Etc.- all in one place
I try to go through each and every stat regularly and update as much as possible, but we all know that some stats are easier to track down than others. As always, every stat is linked to its original source and has the source date listed.
To get your copy of the report, click on the button below to purchase it.
Report 1: Billion Users Club Report (Android, Apple, Facebook, Messenger, Google, Instagram, Microsoft, WeChat, WhatsApp, YouTube).
Report 2: Facebook Products Report (Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, WhatsApp)
Report 3: Messaging App Company Report (Apple, Facebook Messenger, Kik, LINE, QQ, Skype, Snapchat, Viber, WeChat and WhatsApp)
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