In August 2021, the digital rights organization Access Now reported that WhatsApp along with several other social media apps was being blocked in Zambia for the duration of the general election. The ban was prompted by concerns of US authorities potentially accessing user data for such apps because of the CLOUD Act. In December 2021, the Swiss army banned the use of WhatsApp and several other non-Swiss encrypted messaging services by army personnel.
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According to WhatsApp, the exploit “targeted at least 100 human-rights defenders, journalists and other members of civil society” among a total of 1,400 users in 20 countries. A Wired report noted the attack was able to inject malware via calls to the targeted phone, even if the user did not answer the call. In 2018, it was reported that around 500,000 National Health Service (NHS) staff used WhatsApp and other instant messaging systems at work and around 29,000 had faced disciplinary action for doing so. The enforcement of the privacy policy was postponed from February 8 to May 15, 2021, WhatsApp announced they had no plans to limit the functionality of the app for those who did not approve the new terms. Previously, users could opt-out of such data sharing, but the new policy removed this option. In January 2021, WhatsApp announced an updated privacy policy which stated that WhatsApp would share user data with Facebook and its “family of companies” beginning February 2021.
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Users are able to use an avatar as their profile picture or use it for stickers during instant messaging, similar to those offered by Bitmoji or Memoji. In March 2021, WhatsApp started rolling out support for third-party animated stickers, initially in Iran, Brazil and Indonesia, then worldwide. Unlike other platforms, WhatsApp requires third-party apps to add Stickers to WhatsApp. In November 2023, WhatsApp also began rolling out support for sending login codes to a linked email address, rather than via SMS.
Linked devices automatically log out after 14 days of inactivity on the primary phone. They link to and sync with WhatsApp actively running on a supported primary phone. Currently, WhatsApp’s principal platforms, which are fully supported, are devices supporting mobile telephony running Android, and iPhones. Engadget called the revamped feature “WhatsApp’s version of an AIM away message” and likened it to Instagram’s and Facebook’s Notes. Prior to the update, the feature was “largely hidden within the apps menus” and difficult to find, with the reason for updating being that WhatsApp wanted the feature to be used more often.
The Windows version is based on UWP while the Mac version is a port of the iOS version using Catalyst technology. Later on, it also added support for iOS, Nokia Series 40, and Nokia S60 (Symbian). As of 2025, the software requires at least Android version 5.0 or iOS version 15.1 respectively. By default, it is set to disappear in 24 hours, but it can be set for a longer amount of time and can be restricted for viewing by other contacts in the Settings menu. Unlike messages in groups or private chats, channels are not end-to-end encrypted.
According to WhatsApp, this update was made for the incoming Christmas period for users to inform their contacts on their activities during the holidays. WhatsApp also introduced chat filters, allowing users to sort their chats by All, Unread or Groups. In April 2024, an AI-powered “Smart Assistant” became widely available in WhatsApp, allowing users to ask it questions or have it complete tasks such as generating images. Channels were initially only available to users in Colombia and Singapore, then later Egypt, Chile, Malaysia, Morocco, Ukraine, Kenya and Peru before becoming widely available in September 2023. In April 2022, WhatsApp announced undated plans to roll out a Communities feature allowing several group chats to exist in a shared space, getting unified notifications and opening up smaller discussion groups. Since then, linked devices support has expanded and more information is written in the Platform Support part of this article.
Now, the feature is also made available to iOS users, allowing them to link up to four iPhones. Messages would still be end-to-end encrypted.WhatsApp officially rolled out the Companion mode for Android users, allowing linking up to five Android phones to a single account. In April 2023, the app rolled out a feature that would allow account access across multiple phones, in a shift that would make it more like competitors. In January 2015, WhatsApp launched a web client that allowed users to scan a QR code with their mobile app, mirroring their chats to their browser. In October 2023 they also introduced passkey support, where a user can verify their login with on-device biometrics, rather than SMS.
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WhatsApp 2.0, released for iPhone in August 2009, featured a purpose-designed messaging component; the number of active users suddenly increased to 250,000. It became the world’s most popular messaging application in 2015, with 900 million users, and had more than 2 billion active users worldwide in February 2020. As of May 2025, the service had 3 billion monthly active users, making it the most used messenger app. According to Globes, already by 2013 the application was installed on 92% of all smartphones, with 86% of users reporting daily use. In May 2025, Meta reported WhatsApp had over 3 billion monthly active users globally. In May 2017, it was reported that WhatsApp users spend over 340 million minutes on video calls each day on the app.
Linked and multi-device support
In April 2017, the perpetrator of the Stockholm truck attack reportedly used WhatsApp to exchange messages with an ISIS supporter shortly before and after the incident. However, the company did not reveal the names of the end users, which according to research by Citizen Lab include, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kazakhstan, Morocco, Mexico and the United Arab Emirates. In March 2019, WhatsApp released a guide for users who had installed unofficial modified versions of WhatsApp and warned that it may ban those using unofficial clients. A personal device of the former Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, had been compromised by a security breach, and it was claimed that it could not be switched on to recover messages.
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It was also not available for iOS users on launch, due to limitations from Apple. The web client was not standalone, and required the user’s phone to stay on and connected to the internet. In a later update on November 30, WhatsApp added a Secret Code feature, which allows those who use locked chats to enter a unique password that hides those chats from view when unlocking the app. In July 2021, WhatsApp announced forthcoming support for end-to-end encryption for backups stored in Facebook’s cloud. In November 2023, WhatsApp added a “voice chat” feature for groups with more than 32 members. According to the company, messages could be edited within a 15-minute window after being sent.
- The web client was not standalone, and required the user’s phone to stay on and connected to the internet.
- In November 2023, WhatsApp added a “voice chat” feature for groups with more than 32 members.
- In August 2014, WhatsApp was the most popular messaging app in the world, with more than 600 million users.
In October 2020, Facebook announced the introduction of pricing tiers for services offered via the WhatsApp Business API, charged on a per-conversation basis. The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) has prohibited local banks from using instant messaging applications like WhatsApp for customer communication. The organization reported a massive drop-off in traffic for the blocked services, though the country’s government made no official statements about the block.
On August 24, 2014, Koum announced on his Twitter account that WhatsApp had over 600 million active users worldwide. Another application called GB WhatsApp is considered malicious by cybersecurity firm Symantec because it usually performs some unauthorized operations on end-user devices. The hack, allegedly developed by Israeli surveillance technology firm NSO Group, injected malware onto WhatsApp users’ phones via a remote-exploit bug in the app’s Voice over IP calling functions. There were a series of incidents between 2017 and 2020, after which WhatsApp announced changes for Indian users of the platform that labels forwarded messages as such.
In May 2019, WhatsApp was attacked by hackers who installed spyware on a number of victims’ smartphones. Higher usage was reported by frontline clinical staff to keep up with care needs, even though NHS trust policies do not permit their use. Further, the Cabinet Office had claimed that since many messages were not relevant to the inquiry, it only needed to hand over material it had selected as being relevant. Notably, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the UK government routinely used WhatsApp to make decisions on managing the crisis, including on personal rather than government-issued devices.
- In December 2019, WhatsApp confirmed a security flaw that would allow hackers to use a malicious GIF image file to gain access to the recipient’s data.
- The acquisition was influenced by the data provided by Onavo, Facebook’s research app for monitoring competitors and trending usage of social activities on mobile phones, as well as startups that were performing “unusually well”.
- In March 2020, WhatsApp partnered with the World Health Organization and UNICEF to provide messaging hotlines for people to get information on the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Since then, linked devices support has expanded and more information is written in the Platform Support part of this article.
- A Wired report noted the attack was able to inject malware via calls to the targeted phone, even if the user did not answer the call.
In April 2011, Sequoia Capital invested about $8 million for more than 15% of the company, after months of negotiation by Sequoia partner Jim Goetz. Koum then hired a friend in Los Angeles, Chris Peiffer, to develop a BlackBerry version, which arrived two months later. Although Acton was working on another startup idea, he decided to join the company.
It allows users to send text messages, voice messages, and video messages, make voice and video calls, and share images, documents, user locations, and other content. WhatsApp has increasingly drawn its innovation from competing services, such as a Telegram-inspired web pin up aviator online version and features for groups. In May 2014, WhatsApp crossed 50 million monthly active users in India, which is also its largest country by the number of monthly active users, then 70 million in October 2014, making users in India 10% of WhatsApp’s total user base. By February 2017, WhatsApp had over 1.2 billion users globally, reaching 1.5 billion monthly active users by the end of 2017. At that point WhatsApp was adding about 25 million new users every month, or 833,000 active users per day. In September 2017, security researchers reported to The New York Times that the WhatsApp service had been completely blocked in China.
On December 16, 2020, a claim that WhatsApp gave Google access to private messages was included in the anti-trust case against the latter. The bug was discovered by Check Point in August 2019 and reported to WhatsApp. When the recipient opened the gallery within WhatsApp, even if not sending the malicious image, the hack is triggered and the device and its contents become vulnerable. In December 2019, WhatsApp confirmed a security flaw that would allow hackers to use a malicious GIF image file to gain access to the recipient’s data. In September 2019, WhatsApp was criticized for its implementation of a ‘delete for everyone’ feature. In May 2019, a security vulnerability in WhatsApp was found and fixed that allowed a remote person to install spyware by making a call which did not need to be answered.
Some devices using dual SIMs may not be compatible with WhatsApp, though there are unofficial workarounds to install the app. Previously the Android and Nokia Series 40 versions used an MD5-hashed, reversed-version of the phone’s IMEI as a password, while the iOS version used the phone’s Wi-Fi MAC address instead of the IMEI. WhatsApp uses a customized version of the open standard Extensible messaging and presence protocol (XMPP).
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On May 9, 2014, the government of Iran announced that it had proposed to block the access to WhatsApp service to Iranian residents. In April 2017, nearly 300 WhatsApp groups with about 250 members each were reportedly being used to mobilize stone-pelters in Jammu and Kashmir to disrupt security forces’ operations at encounter sites. The messages involved discussing how to make an explosive device and a confession to the attack. Rudd publicly called for police and intelligence agencies to be given access to WhatsApp and other encrypted messaging services to prevent future terror attacks. The message reportedly contained a malicious file, the receipt of which resulted in Bezos’ phone being hacked. In its revelation via documents received via court, the group claimed that the lawsuit brought against the company by WhatsApp threatened to infringe on its clients’ “national security and foreign policy concerns”.
WhatsApp confirmed the partnership to reporters, but there was no announcement or documentation about the encryption feature on the official website, and further requests for comment were declined. On November 18, 2014, Open Whisper Systems announced a partnership with WhatsApp to provide end-to-end encryption by incorporating the encryption protocol used in Signal into each WhatsApp client platform. When a user sends a message, it is stored on a WhatsApp server, which tries to forward it to the addressee, and repeatedly requests acknowledgement of receipt. WhatsApp’s voice codec is Opus, which uses the modified discrete cosine transform (MDCT) and linear predictive coding (LPC) audio compression algorithms. WhatsApp has been officially supported for iPads and its iPadOS since May 27, 2025.
