What Is WhatsApp? Launched in 2009, WhatsApp is a free, multi-platform messaging app that lets users make video and voice calls, send text messages, share their status, and more with just a Wi-Fi connection. Part of what makes this app appealing is that it works on various phone and computer operating systems, so you can continue your conversation anytime, anywhere. It can also take advantage of Wi-Fi and cellular data to make one-on-one or group calls, reducing the need for expensive calling charges. If this sounds exciting so far, keep reading to find out everything you need to know about WhatsApp.
Free international calls
WhatsApp uses your phone’s cellular or Wi-Fi connection to facilitate messaging and voice calling to nearly anyone on the planet, alone or in a group and is especially nice for families and small collaborative workgroups. The app lets you make calls, send and receive messages, and share documents, photos, and videos. WhatsApp is completely free — with no fees or subscriptions — because it uses your phone’s 5G, 4G, 3G, 2G, EDGE, or Wi-Fi connection instead of your cell plan’s voice minutes or text plan. If you’re connected via Wi-Fi, it won’t eat into your data plan, either.
Easy chatting and calling over most platforms
WhatsApp is platform agnostic. You do not need to own the same brand of the phone as your call recipient or be on a specific platform — the app works with iPhone and Android phones and Mac or Windows desktop or laptop computers, which you can use to send and receive messages, but not make calls. Like any other SMS messenger, you can initiate a conversation with an individual or a group and video chat with up to eight people. The iOS version also has in-app support for video playback from both Instagram and Facebook. You can also share your location, broadcast your status to your contacts, share contacts, set customized wallpapers and notification alerts, email chat history, use the camera to shoot photos and videos from within the app, and simultaneously broadcast messages to multiple contacts. You are always logged in so you never miss messages, but even if you miss notifications while your phone is off, the app saves recent messages for when you re-open the app.
Like iMessage for the iPhone, WhatsApp has a simple interface that showcases your chats in text bubbles complete with a timestamp and notifies you when your recipient has viewed your text.
WhatsApp can identify people in your contact list who currently use the app, so you typically don’t have to add them manually. You can also invite people who don’t have WhatsApp or connect with other users you know but who aren’t on your contact list. WhatsApp lets you create work, friends, or family groups to communicate with up to 256 participants. The app also lets you change your background and send your GPS location to the group through an interactive map. Additionally, you can type in a status message or upload a photo in your status that will last up to 24 hours. It’s also quite adaptable, as you can block contacts from within the app or send a friend’s information to another user within the app.
The app has a search function that lets you search by keyword, group, contact name, or phone number. You can also search for keywords in a conversation. WhatsApp is interoperable with Google so that you can save a copy of your message history to Google Drive or, if you are not on Google, to your phone’s memory. Should you lose critical messages, you can redownload and reinstall the app to find your lost messages.
Security
WhatsApp has a number of advanced security features. It has end-to-end encryption, just like Apple’s iMessage and Signal. All messages flowing through the platform are secured so that only the sender and the recipient can view them. This means WhatsApp couldn’t read your message even if it wanted to. The app doesn’t store your personal information, and only people you approve as contacts can message you. As with an increasing number of internet services like Google and Facebook, WhatsApp uses two-factor authentication, which has you type in a second passcode sent to your phone via text message to access your account. Group messages can conflict with some privacy settings, however, in that if you have blocked someone, they can still appear in a group message that you can see.
Global reach versus the competition
WhatsApp says it serves more than 2 billion people in over 180 countries, with over 1 billion daily active users. WhatsApp Messenger is now the leading mobile messaging app in 169 countries — although perhaps surprisingly, it wasn’t as popular in the U.S., where Messenger was more frequently used. This seems to be changing now, as recent data shows WhatsApp tops the current list of the most popular global mobile messaging apps in 2021. Currently, more than 100 billion messages are sent each day on WhatsApp, making it the most active messaging app in the world.
WhatsApp generally takes a broad approach to reach as many people as possible around the world. The app continues to dominate in India, Germany, Russia, and the U.K. However, despite its impressive stats, WhatsApp isn’t the only game in town. Among the app’s competitors are Signal, Telegram, Facebook Messenger, Skype, and even Twitter DMs.
WhatsApp Mobile updates for 2021
WhatsApp instituted new privacy settings last year that give users more control over group messages, particularly when it comes to who can add you to groups. Admins can send you a private invite via Settings > Account > Privacy > Groups. The app also added more privacy options for the status function. Now, there are three options available: Everyone, My Contacts, and My Contacts Except. My Contacts are restricted to people you have in your address book, and My Contacts Except offers even more control over which contacts can see your status. You can add or remove users from this My Contacts Except list for every status you update, thus giving you more privacy and control over the information you share on the app.
Additionally, now new call-waiting features let you choose to accept an incoming WhatsApp call while you’re on another call.
However, WhatsApp made a lot of headlines in January and May this year as it updated its privacy policy and terms of use after being acquired by Facebook. It was assumed this update would give WhatsApp the right to read user messages, but Niamh Sweeney, WhatsApp’s director of public policy for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, confirmed there were no changes to the app’s data-sharing policy.
Web version
WhatsApp Web is a desktop version of the mobile app that operates within standard Mac or Windows browsers (except Internet Explorer). But unfortunately, it doesn’t offer all the services available in the mobile app. Everything you do on the web will sync and show up on the iPhone or Android app so all of your chats get synced — and the web version now lets you make video calls, too. A business version lets companies access WhatsApp to interact with customers.
Downsides of WhatsApp
WhatsApp is a deeply useful service for people worldwide. We’ve found that one of the only issues that app users face is that they cannot communicate with friends and family who haven’t downloaded the app yet. WhatsApp only allows users with an account to chat with others within the platform. To fully benefit from the host of positives this app provides, you’ll have to convince the people in your life to join the WhatsApp circle. Once you’ve convinced everyone to join, you’ll find there are very few problems with the app.
It can be tough to convince others to join, especially if they already prefer messaging through other apps or platforms. If that’s the case, you may need to win them over with some of the other promising features from WhatsApp, like their “stories” and universal messaging. Unfortunately, the app doesn’t have any of the face or photo filters that are popular on competitor apps; that could be a downside for users who like mainstream messaging services.
WhatsApp doesn’t have a designated virtual assistant, either. The app also restricts users to a maximum file limit while messaging — you can’t send files, photos, or videos larger than 100MB and 16MB respectively. Fortunately, you can call other users for free, but if you are not on Wi-Fi, it can suck up data quickly. To stop those data charges from racking up, try to use WhatsApp only while on Wi-Fi. Finally, WhatsApp is not able to call 911 or any other emergency services. You will need a real cell phone plan for those emergency services.º
Editors’ Recommendations