The world has seen a range of messaging applications come and go. Big names like MSN Messenger and Skype have been around for quite some time. However, with the advancements in mobile platforms, many other apps have come up catering to this market as well.
Messaging apps generally allow users to send messages free of cost. Messages are sent over the internet, which renders them almost completely free. Users just need to provide for the internet connection and have the application downloaded and installed on their devices.
Of these many apps, WhatsApp has been steadily increasing in terms of user base and popularity worldwide. This app, which was launched in 2009, has seen a huge rise in popularity and has ousted the likes of the once preferred Skype.
WhatsApp is available across most platforms, be it iOS, Android, Windows, Blackberry and even the older Nokia Symbian. This multi-platform app allows users to send messages, images and even audio and video recordings to others, completely free of cost.
WhatsApp is also compatible for users across different geographical locations. It allows for different people using different phones and across different subscribers to communicate with each other just by having the app downloaded and installed.
With many other such free applications available in the market, WhatsApp has over 500 million subscribers all over the world. With other applications such as the popular Line, SnapChat and Viber being banned in places like China, WhatsApp’s popularity will only grow in the coming few months.
Many users have flocked to WhatsApp because of its wide support for different phones and platforms. Nearly all phone platforms support this popular application. And with its wide range of features, users have increasingly decreased traditional methods such as text and even in some cases, calls. Today, it is almost a given that most friends and family members will have this application installed on their phones and that list is only growing.
The size of the application is also very small, just 14 megabytes. This allows for easy and quick downloads. The interface is also very friendly and users can send and receive messages instantly, as long as they have internet access. Furthermore, this holds true for all types of messages, including audio and video clips and images. In many other applications, users may experience delays in communication and are not really as suitable as WhatsApp in being used as instant messaging platforms.
Another great feature of the application is that it is completely free of advertisements. This has given it a huge edge over other platforms, many of which are full of annoying adverts. WhatsApp is completely user friendly and allows for uninterrupted conversations.
With such features and broad support, WhatsApp is only more likely to enjoy more growth. Today, it is only closely competed by WeChat in terms of number of subscribers, with other platforms pretty far behind. However, with WeChat beginning to censor content in China, WhatsApp is soon more likely to become the undisputed king of instant messaging platforms.