The messaging social network is back in the news. This time those responsible for WhatsApp have left behind the hermeticism that usually accompanies the company to confirm to the US media The Wall Street Journal their number of users, or at least an approximate figure. Specifically, this tool already has more than 250 million monthly active users, a figure that only confirms the hegemony of this messaging application over the competition
Such a number of users doesn't end up catching us off guard, because it was rumored several months ago that almost 300 million users could be using WhatsApp actively around the world. However, in the absence of official confirmation, it was only a hypothetical and approximate figure. Now that the real data is known, the words of Jan Koum from a few months ago when he dared to say at a conference that fit better WhatsApp was bigger than Twitter An issue that was hard to believe and was taken with a grain of s alt, understanding that in terms of volume of information , instant messaging won. In that month of April, when such a statement emerged, Twitter already had 200 million users , so WhatsApp surely would have already passed that milestone, approaching 250 million users in his case
Compared to other messaging tools, it also continues to be the leader. Despite the rapid and powerful growth of LINE, another of the best-known and most widespread applications, this tool has only exceeded 100 million users in January A very laudable figure for a service that has not been in operation for more than two years but, as can be seen , follow behind WhatApp The same goes for other apps like WeChat or Facebook Messenger, although no current figures have been released.
This record achieved by WhatsApp may well be due to its fame, being the force of its expansion its own user base And the fact is that the team behind this tool does not use , neither to promote itself nor as a business systemAccording to its creators, the application's mission is to offer a simple and functional service to keep in touch with family and friends, not to create a monetization tool through . For this reason, and despite a somewhat dark stage in terms of security problems and system crashes that prevented its normal operation for hours, users have continued using a tool where they knew they would contact the people around them, leaving behind even the text message or SMS
Don't lose sight of the fact that WhatsApp is not completely free And it is that since last March its policy of free and random account renewal ended, forcing users to pay something less than one euro for a year of service An issue that, in exchange for not introducing it, allows this tool to continue growing.Something that has not stopped its growth despite the criticism received. And the thing is that WhatsApp is now more than just a messaging application. In many countries, thanks to agreements with mobile operators, they have created data rates with prices reduced to be able to use this application at any time and place. Something that seems to have given it even more strength in developing countries Therefore, it is still expected that this tool will continue to grow and leadfor much longer, even though the competition is fierce.
