The cross-platform messaging, freeware, and Voice over IP service, also known as WhatsApp Messenger and owned by Facebook that lets users send text messages, make voice or video calls, share photos, documents, and other media, hit a milestone. WhatsApp can now celebrate for its recent record of 2 billion users worldwide.
The company released the news recently in a blog post. It had also displayed how significant the event is. WhatsApp detailed how went up from 1.5 billion and 1 billion users back in 2018 and 2016, as well. Such a thing equals to 2.5 billion users for Facebook itself, and 1 billion Instagram users, according to The Wall Street Journal report.
WhatsApp utilized the event to reemphasize the significance of encrypting its users’ messages, a method that is going under rising amounts of pressure from lawmakers worldwide.
WhatsApp Established A New Record – 2 Billion Active Users
Also, governments dispute that being powerless to see users’ messages makes it challenging to identify when the messaging app is being utilized to promote child exploitation, terrorism, and other crimes. WhatsApp CEO Will Cathcart, however, explains that the company doesn’t intend to turn off encryption on its service.
“For all of human history, people have been able to communicate privately with each other, and we don’t think that should go away in modern society,” stated Cathcart for The Wall Street Journal. He also stated that WhatsApp would offer metadata when it is needed for an investigation. For other plans, Cathcart said that the company is running some tests to turn the service interoperable with Facebook’s other messaging users in plans announced by CEO Mark Zuckerberg back in 2019.
Moreover, Cathcart stated that such an integration might have its boundaries, with some options that are already on a messaging service like Messenger not turning into WhatsApp.
