WhatsApp

WhatsApp

WhatsApp (also called WhatsApp Messenger) is an internationally available <a href="/en/Freeware" title="Freeware" class="wl">freeware</a>, <a href="/en/Cross-platform" title="Cross-platform" class="mw-redirect wl">cross-platform</a>, <a href="/en/Centralized_computing" title="Centralized computing" class="wl">centralized</a> <a href="/en/Instant_messaging" title="Instant messaging" class="wl">instant messaging</a> (IM) and <a href="/en/Voice_over_IP" title="Voice over IP" class="wl">voice-over-IP</a> (VoIP) service owned by US tech conglomerate <a href="/en/Meta_Platforms" title="Meta Platforms" class="wl">Meta</a>.<a href="#cite_note-metz-wired-11" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 11;">[11]</a> It allows users to send <a href="/en/Text_message" title="Text message" class="mw-redirect wl">text</a> and <a href="/en/Voice_message" title="Voice message" class="mw-redirect wl">voice messages</a>,<a href="#cite_note-12" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 12;">[12]</a> make voice and video calls, and share images, documents, user locations, and other content.<a href="#cite_note-13" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 13;">[13]</a><a href="#cite_note-WhatsApp's_Voice_Calling-14" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 14;">[14]</a> WhatsApp's <a href="/en/Client_(computing)" title="Client (computing)" class="wl">client</a> application runs on <a href="/en/Mobile_device" title="Mobile device" class="wl">mobile devices</a>, and can be accessed from computers.<a href="#cite_note-15" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 15;">[15]</a> The service requires a <a href="/en/Cellular_network" title="Cellular network" class="wl">cellular</a> <a href="/en/Telephone_number" title="Telephone number" class="wl">mobile telephone number</a> to sign up.<a href="#cite_note-16" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 16;">[16]</a> In January 2018, WhatsApp released a standalone business app called WhatsApp Business which can communicate with the standard WhatsApp client.<a href="#cite_note-17" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 17;">[17]</a><a href="#cite_note-18" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 18;">[18]</a>

<div class="shortdescription nomobile noexcerpt noprint searchaux" style="display:none" about="#mwt1">Messaging and VoIP service owned by Meta</div>



<style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1066479718" typeof="mw:Extension/templatestyles mw:Transclusion">.mw-parser-output .infobox-subbox{padding:0;border:none;margin:-3px;width:auto;min-width:100%;font-size:100%;clear:none;float:none;background-color:transparent}.mw-parser-output .infobox-3cols-child{margin:auto}.mw-parser-output .infobox .navbar{font-size:100%}body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-header,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-subheader,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-above,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-title,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-image,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-full-data,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-below{text-align:center}</style><div class='mobile-collapse'><header class="mobile-collapse-header mobile-collapse-btn">Quick facts: Original author(s), Developer(s), Initial rel... ▼</header> <table class="infobox vevent mobile-collapse-element"><caption class="infobox-title summary">WhatsApp</caption><tbody><tr><td colspan="2" class="infobox-image logo"><a href="/en/File:WhatsApp.svg" class="mw-file-description image media-thumb" data-hash="File:WhatsApp.svg"><img loading="lazy" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6b/WhatsApp.svg/120px-WhatsApp.svg.png" decoding="async" data-file-width="512" data-file-height="513" data-file-type="drawing" height="120" width="120" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6b/WhatsApp.svg/180px-WhatsApp.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6b/WhatsApp.svg/240px-WhatsApp.svg.png 2x" alt="WhatsApp.svg"></a></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label" style="white-space: nowrap;"><a href="/en/Programmer" title="Programmer" class="wl">Original author(s)</a></th><td class="infobox-data"><a href="/en/Brian_Acton" title="Brian Acton" class="wl">Brian Acton</a>, <a href="/en/Jan_Koum" title="Jan Koum" class="wl">Jan Koum</a></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label" style="white-space: nowrap;"><a href="/en/Programmer" title="Programmer" class="wl">Developer(s)</a></th><td class="infobox-data"><a href="/en/Meta_Platforms" title="Meta Platforms" class="wl">Meta Platforms</a>, Will Cathcart (Head of WhatsApp)<a href="#cite_note-1" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 1;">[1]</a><a href="#cite_note-WashingtonPostWhatsAppPushback-2" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 2;">[2]</a></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label" style="white-space: nowrap;">Initial release</th><td class="infobox-data">January&nbsp;2009; 14&nbsp;years ago&nbsp;(2009-01)</td></tr><tr style="display: none;"><td colspan="2" class="infobox-full-data"></td></tr><tr><th colspan="2" class="infobox-header"><a href="/en/Software_release_life_cycle" title="Software release life cycle" class="wl">Stable release(s)</a> <a rel="mw:ExtLink" href="/en/Template:Latest_stable_software_release/WhatsApp?action=edit" class="external text wl">[±]</a></th></tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="infobox-full-data"><table class="infobox-subbox"><tbody><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">iOS</th><td class="infobox-data">22.13.74&nbsp;<a href="/en/Q1049511?uselang=en#P348" title="Edit this on Wikidata" class="image wl"><img loading="lazy"alt="Edit this on Wikidata" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/8a/OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg/10px-OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg.png" decoding="async" data-file-width="20" data-file-height="20" data-file-type="drawing" height="10" width="10" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/8a/OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg/15px-OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/8a/OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg/20px-OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg.png 2x"></a> / 27 June 2022; 9 months ago&nbsp;(27 June 2022)</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Android</th><td class="infobox-data">2.22.16.74<a href="#cite_note-wikidata-1469a010d917be96531a465a35695f0de8304535-v3-3" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 3;">[3]</a>&nbsp;<a href="/en/Q1049511?uselang=en#P348" title="Edit this on Wikidata" class="image wl"><img loading="lazy"alt="Edit this on Wikidata" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/8a/OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg/10px-OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg.png" decoding="async" data-file-width="20" data-file-height="20" data-file-type="drawing" height="10" width="10" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/8a/OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg/15px-OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/8a/OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg/20px-OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg.png 2x"></a> / 29 July 2022; 8 months ago&nbsp;(29 July 2022)</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Windows</th><td class="infobox-data">2.2226.6<a href="#cite_note-wikidata-4c08ebe2c44fcae9bbf644e9aae289a47e5eced0-v3-4" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 4;">[4]</a>&nbsp;<a href="/en/Q1049511?uselang=en#P348" title="Edit this on Wikidata" class="image wl"><img loading="lazy"alt="Edit this on Wikidata" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/8a/OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg/10px-OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg.png" decoding="async" data-file-width="20" data-file-height="20" data-file-type="drawing" height="10" width="10" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/8a/OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg/15px-OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/8a/OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg/20px-OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg.png 2x"></a> / 1 August 2022; 8 months ago&nbsp;(1 August 2022)</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">macOS</th><td class="infobox-data">2.2222.12&nbsp;<a href="/en/Q1049511?uselang=en#P348" title="Edit this on Wikidata" class="image wl"><img loading="lazy"alt="Edit this on Wikidata" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/8a/OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg/10px-OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg.png" decoding="async" data-file-width="20" data-file-height="20" data-file-type="drawing" height="10" width="10" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/8a/OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg/15px-OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/8a/OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg/20px-OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg.png 2x"></a> / 27 June 2022; 9 months ago&nbsp;(27 June 2022)</td></tr></tbody></table></td><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1066479718" typeof="mw:Extension/templatestyles"></style></tr><tr><th colspan="2" class="infobox-header"><a href="/en/Software_release_life_cycle#Beta" title="Software release life cycle" class="wl">Preview release(s)</a> <a rel="mw:ExtLink" href="/en/Template:Latest_preview_software_release/WhatsApp?action=edit" class="external text wl">[±]</a></th></tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="infobox-full-data">Multiple releases

Android - 2.21.16.2
Date - July&nbsp;26, 2021; 20 months ago&nbsp;(2021-07-26)<style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1133582631" typeof="mw:Extension/templatestyles">.mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit;word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"\"""\"""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Lock-green.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg")right 0.1em center/12px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:none;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;color:#d33}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{color:#d33}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#3a3;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right{padding-right:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-selflink{font-weight:inherit}</style><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="mw:ExtLink nofollow" href="https://www.apkmirror.com/apk/whatsapp-inc/whatsapp/" class="external text" target="_blank">"WhatsApp Messenger APKs"</a>. APKMirror.</cite></td></tr><tr style="display:none"><td colspan="2">
</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label" style="white-space: nowrap;">Written in</th><td class="infobox-data"><a href="/en/Erlang_(programming_language)" title="Erlang (programming language)" class="wl">Erlang</a><a href="#cite_note-fastcompany-5" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 5;">[5]</a></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label" style="white-space: nowrap;"><a href="/en/Operating_system" title="Operating system" class="wl">Operating system</a></th><td class="infobox-data"><a href="/en/Android_(operating_system)" title="Android (operating system)" class="wl">Android</a>, <a href="/en/IOS" title="IOS" class="wl">iOS</a>, <a href="/en/KaiOS" title="KaiOS" class="wl">KaiOS</a>, <a href="/en/MacOS" title="MacOS" class="wl">macOS</a>, <a href="/en/Windows" title="Windows" class="mw-redirect wl">Windows</a> (The latter two require one-time verification from the mobile app client.)</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label" style="white-space: nowrap;"><a href="/en/File_size" title="File size" class="wl">Size</a></th><td class="infobox-data">178 <a href="/en/Megabyte" title="Megabyte" class="wl">MB</a> (iOS)<a href="#cite_note-6" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 6;">[6]</a> 
33.85 MB (Android)<a href="#cite_note-7" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 7;">[7]</a></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label" style="white-space: nowrap;">Available in</th><td class="infobox-data">40 (iOS) and 60 (Android)<a href="#cite_note-8" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 8;">[8]</a> languages</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label" style="white-space: nowrap;"><a href="/en/Software_categories#Categorization_approaches" title="Software categories" class="wl">Type</a></th><td class="infobox-data"><a href="/en/Instant_messaging" title="Instant messaging" class="wl">Instant messaging</a>, <a href="/en/VoIP" title="VoIP" class="mw-redirect wl">VoIP</a></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label" style="white-space: nowrap;"><a href="/en/Software_license" title="Software license" class="wl">License</a></th><td class="infobox-data"><a href="/en/Proprietary_software" title="Proprietary software" class="wl">Proprietary software</a> with <a href="/en/EULA" title="EULA" class="mw-redirect wl">EULA</a> "European Region"<a href="#cite_note-9" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 9;">[9]</a> "others"<a href="#cite_note-10" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 10;">[10]</a></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label" style="white-space: nowrap;">Website</th><td class="infobox-data"><a rel="mw:ExtLink nofollow" href="https://www.whatsapp.com/" class="external text" target="_blank">www.whatsapp.com</a>&nbsp;<a href="/en/Q1049511?uselang=en#P856" title="Edit this on Wikidata" class="image wl"><img loading="lazy"alt="Edit this on Wikidata" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/8a/OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg/10px-OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg.png" decoding="async" data-file-width="20" data-file-height="20" data-file-type="drawing" height="10" width="10" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/8a/OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg/15px-OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/8a/OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg/20px-OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg.png 2x"></a></td></tr></tbody></table> <footer class='mobile-collapse-footer mobile-collapse-btn'>Close ▲</footer></div>
The service was created by WhatsApp Inc. of <a href="/en/Mountain_View,_California" title="Mountain View, California" class="wl">Mountain View, California</a>, which was acquired by Facebook in February 2014 for approximately <a href="/en/United_States_dollar" title="United States dollar" class="wl">US$</a>19.3&nbsp;billion.<a href="#cite_note-wsj20140220-19" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 19;">[19]</a><a href="#cite_note-fb-buyout-20" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 20;">[20]</a> It became the world's most popular messaging application by 2015,<a href="#cite_note-Metz-2016-04-05a-21" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 21;">[21]</a><a href="#cite_note-22" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 22;">[22]</a> and had more than 2&nbsp;billion users worldwide by February 2020.<a href="#cite_note-23" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 23;">[23]</a> 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.<a href="#cite_note-Metz-2016-04-05a-21" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 21;">[21]</a>

WhatsApp is an internationally available freeware, cross-platform, centralized instant messaging and voice-over-IP service owned by US tech conglomerate Meta. 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. 