WhatsApp has reached 2 billion monthly active users.
WhatsApp shared the news saying, "We are excited to share that, as of today, WhatsApp supports more than two billion users around the world. Mothers and fathers can reach their loved ones no matter where they are. Brothers and sisters can share moments that matter. Coworkers can collaborate, and businesses can grow by easily connecting with their customers. Private conversations that once were only possible face-to-face can now take place across great distances through instant chats and video calling. There are so many significant and special moments that take place over WhatsApp and we are humbled and honored to reach this milestone."
You can see in the map, that while Facebook Messenger appears to be popularly used in Western regions, WhatsApp remains the largely dominating app and continues to gain more users every day in the developing market.
WhatsApp had reached 1.5 billion users back in 2018 and in just two years it has hit the 2 billion mark which is expected to continue to grow in the upcoming days. And although Facebook notably has a stronghold in India, WhatsApp is gaining traction in such reasons.
WhatsApp is under consideration for business use but it faces many challenges in that aspect. Recently the Facebook-owned app backed down on the idea of introducing ads in its threads, which was a key approach towards monetization. Meanwhile, Facebook appears to be tapping into eCommerce by buying eCommerce tools and providers which use WhatsApp to interact with customers.
If Facebook can get more shopping activity in developing regions and bring WhatsApp in the midst, like introduce funds transfer through WhatsApp pay, it could generate more revenue from the app.
Facebook has been haunted by privacy concerns and there were many questions raised that if Facebook moves towards WhatsApp monetization, it could weaken WhatsApp's privacy measures that involve end-to-end encryption.
We are not sure what Facebook has in store for WhatsApp when it comes to business, but we can say for certain that it appears to become a much bigger platform with more opportunities coming its way.
