The world's most popular instant messaging app for major mobile and desktop platforms from WhatsApp Inc., wholly owned by Meta Platforms. As of 2020, more than two billion people use WhatsApp every month. Meta offers both WhatsApp and Facebook instant messaging (see
Facebook Messenger).
Founded in 2009 by Brian Acton and Jan Koum, Meta (then-Facebook) acquired the company for $19 billion in 2014. Using the Internet rather than the SMS/MMS messaging systems, the ad-free WhatsApp supports voice and video as well as text. WhatsApp also provides voice calling from one user to another and lets users record and send short audio and video messages. See
SMS.
WhatsApp Business
WhatsApp business versions enable small companies and large enterprises to interact with their customers. For example, the Catalog feature lists the company's offerings along with product images, and customers can be sorted into categories for automated customized greetings.