Few smartphone apps have seen the record-breaking success of WhatsApp. Since its release in 2009, the service has become the single most-used smartphone app currently in the iTunes App Store. Hundreds of millions of users send over 18 billion messages per day.
Speaking at the D: Dive Into Mobile conference on Tuesday, CEO Jan Koum said WhatsApp now has more users than Twitter, which itself boasts 200 million monthly active users. The company reportedly received offers from Google earlier this month, however the company said that no such talks had occurred.
Koum went on to state the company processes 12 billion outbound messages and 8 billion inbound every day, far more than any other independent messaging service. With fewer than 50 employed engineers, the company also holds the highest ratio of active users to employees of any in the tech game.
"We"re looking forward to a world with billions of phones."
Koum added:
"Once that happens it"s going to be extremely easy to monetize. But a lot more people need to join the smartphone revolution and a lot more people need to buy more goods on their phones."
It must be noted, however, that comparing WhatsApp to Twitter is like comparing apples to motorcycle tyres. WhatsApp, as a private messaging service, holds none of the worldwide clout that Twitter does. News breaks and public opinion is measured on Twitter, whereas the conventions of private messaging services such as WhatsApp don"t allow for similar exposure. SMS messaging is still larger than every other method of digital communication, but it goes mainly unnoticed.
Source: AllThingsD | Image via Wikimedia