WhatsApp 

(also called WhatsApp Messenger) is an internationally available freeware, cross-

platform, centralized instant messaging (IM) and voice-over-IP (VoIP) service owned by American
company Meta Platforms.[11] It allows users to send text and voice messages,[12] make voice and video
calls, and share images, documents, user locations, and other content.[13]
[14]
 WhatsApp's client application runs on mobile devices, and can be accessed from computers.
[15]
 The service requires a cellular mobile telephone number to sign up.[16] In January 2018, WhatsApp
released a standalone business app called WhatsApp Business which can communicate with the
standard WhatsApp client.[17][18]

WhatsApp was founded in February 2009[59] by Brian Acton and Jan Koum, former employees

of Yahoo!. It was initially not intended to be used as a messaging app.[citation needed]
In January 2009, after Koum purchased an iPhone, he and Acton, keen to jump into what they
foresaw as a newly burgeoning multi-million dollar app industry created by the Apple App Store,
Koum came up with an idea for an app to provide dynamic information about the people listed in
your address book: it would show statuses for each person, for example: "if you were on a call, your
battery was low, or you were at the gym." Their discussions often took place at the home of Koum's
Russian friend Alex Fishman in West San Jose. 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.[59]

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 the U.S. Apple App Store.[24]

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.

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

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

Later in September 2018, WhatsApp introduced group audio and video call features
WhatsApp is introduced for both Windows and Mac operating systems.[55]

WhatsApp introduces its document-sharing feature, initially allowing users to share PDF files with their contacts.[51]

January WhatsApp launches WhatsApp Business, a

2018 platform for small enterprises where they can

connect with customers.[56]

April WhatsApp co-founder and CEO Jan Koum

2018 announces he’s leaving the company after clashes

with Facebook, saying “I sold my users’ privacy”.[57]

September WhatsApp launches group audio and

2018 video calls.[5

In May 2022, the file upload limit was raised from 100 MB to 2 GB, and maximum group size
increased to 512 members.[144]
In August 2022, WhatsApp launched an integration with JioMart, available only to users in India.
Local users can text special numbers in the app to launch an in-app shopping process, where they
can order groceries.[145]

WhatsApp Web
WhatsApp was officially made available for PCs through a web client, under the name WhatsApp
Web,[160] 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).[161]
  Previously the WhatsApp user's handset had to be connected to the Internet for the browser
[162]

application to function but as of an update in October 2021 that is no longer the case.[163] 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.[1

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.[172][173][174]

Apple iPad
As of May 2022, WhatsApp does not run on the iPad.[175]
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.[176]
In a 2022 interview with The Verge, WhatsApp chief Will Cathcart acknowledged that "[p]eople have
wanted an iPad app for a long time" and said that the team would "love to do it."[1
TECHNICAL

WhatsApp uses a customized version of the open standard Extensible Messaging and Presence
Protocol (XMPP).[178] 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,[
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.[192]
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).

Growth of WhatsApp
WhatsApp, owned by Facebook, now has 1 billion users worldwide and is the biggest
online messenger app on the market. Founded in 2009 by ex-Yahoo employees it
started as a small startup and swelled to 250,000 users in just a few months, growing so
fast that they had to add a charge for using the service per year to slow the subscription
rate down. In 2014, WhatsApp was acquired by Facebook and has seen continued
growth, reaching the 1 billion mark in July 2017.

Forget online shopping. There’s WhatsApp shopping. 

 Work emails are outdated. Instead, Whatsapp groups take charge of deadlines.

Going to the chemist isn’t mandatory. Just send the prescription on WhatsApp. 

. Thanks to WhatsApp groups , the world has become smaller, and distances
shorter.  
 Help arrives sooner than ever. 

Door bells have been replaced by WhatsApp pings. 

. Thanks to the blue ticks, people now have the right to call you an insensitive
b****. 

Thanks to WhatsApp, you even think of god once in a while. 

It’s become simpler to call or text people on special occasions like festivals. 

Sadly, WhatsApp has reduced face to face communication. 

Thankfully, our phone bills have plateaued. 

The more mobile technology improves, the less need people will have to
make voice calls or send messages using telecom paid for SMS or paid for
minutes . People will be more able to use Wi-Fi and 4G to complete these
tasks, and the advent of 5G has only hastened the move away from these
traditional paid for calls and SMS. According to the London-based research
and analytics firm Ovum, the telecommunications industry will lose a
combined $386 billion between 2012 and 2018 to Skype, WhatsApp and
smaller applications such as Viber. This will be due to the loss of revenue
from international calls and roaming fees that telecom companies previously
received from customers.
year WhatsApp introduced voice calls, which in my estimation works well
when the Wi-Fi or 4G signal is strong, however, weaker signals result in
poorer call quality. The introduction of the 5G network may rectify this issue
and cause the dismantling of the telecom industry as we now know it within
the next 5 to 10 years. I believe that instead of offering voice calling and
messaging services to customers, telecom companies will transition a single-
service industry that offers only data packages to its customers. This may be
the case for the business to consumer (B2C), but what about the business-
to-business (B2B) industry, since a large amount of telecom industry
revenue comes from large businesses.
The government has clarified the changes in the privacy policy of the
WhatsApp in view of the concerns by the general public, saying that subject
changes in privacy are applicable on WhatsApp business account only, while
regular non-business/individual profiles/accounts are not affected.
Customer support Handling communication with users is another aspect that Whatsapp helps in
achieving. Businesses have dedicated Whatsapp numbers where users can message to get
answers to their queries. Vijay, the Product Manager at NowFloats, shares a screenshot of one
of the conversations:

Read more at: https://yourstory.com/2015/02/whatsapp-businesses-work