WhatsApp gains 100m monthly active users in three months, passes 1b like a boss

WhatsApp has reached one billion monthly active users. One billion users means one in seven people in the world can be found furiously typing away on WhatsApp. The growth has been rapid too, taking the instant messaging service only three months to move from 900-million monthly active users to the billion mark.

“We are proud of this milestone, and we’re humbled by the extraordinary ways all of you have used WhatsApp. Whether it’s sharing vital information during natural disasters or health emergencies, finding a date, growing a small business, buying an engagement ring, or seeking a better life” The company wrote on a blog post.

A few weeks ago, WhatsApp announced its plans to drop its $0.99 annual fee. It is not yet clear how WhatsApp will do this and how this will affect its user base. The company however stresses that WhatsApp will always hold on to its identity of having a simple functionality and continue without ‘costs or gimmicks’ standing in its way. The IM sees 42 billion messages daily, 1.6 billion photos shared, 1 billion groups organized through it, and 250 million videos shared.

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“We’ve added the ability for you to call loved ones far away. We’ve dropped the subscription fee and made WhatsApp completely free. Next, we’re going to work to connect more people around the world and make it easier to communicate with businesses. There are only a few services that connect more than a billion people. This milestone is an important step towards connecting the entire world” Zuckerberg boasted on his Facebook page.

WhatsApp is still legging behind Facebook’s 1.59-billion monthly active users and Messenger’s 800 million users.

The plan for Whatsapp is simple, get more people to use the service, “We’re excited to see how far we’ve come. But now, it’s back to work – because we still have another 6 billion people to get on WhatsApp, and a long way left to go” the company said in a blog post.