Mark Zuckerberg has revealed on his WhatsApp channel that there are 100 million monthly WhatsApp users in the US and 50% of those use an iPhone.
This is the first time WhatsApp has revealed any data about users in the US and shows growing popularity for the chat software. WhatsApp is incredibly popular worldwide with more than 2 billion monthly active users. That said, the US market has taken its sweet time to jump on board with the cross-platform smartphone app that allows Android and iPhone users to communicate.
This comes at an interesting time when Apple is about to introduce Rich Communication Services (RCS) to all of its best iPhones with the release of iOS 18. RCS allows communication across platforms with green bubbles to send and receive higher quality images, show when someone is typing like in iMessage, and receive read receipts.
Jump on the WhatsApp train
Last year, the Department of Justice started an investigation over Apple’s refusal to allow applications like Beeper Mini to bring iMessage outside of its walled garden. With the large number of users adopting WhatsApp in the US, however, you have to wonder if the solution is third-party app adoption rather than iMessage for everyone.
In the UK, where I’m based, WhatsApp is incredibly popular and allows for easy communication across smartphone platforms. The reliance on iMessage in the US has always left me scratching my head, especially considering just how reliable and secure WhatsApp is.
In the US, Meta is ramping up its marketing push. According to TechCrunch, “In the past few years, WhatsApp has placed ad campaigns, placements in Times Square, and TV spots emphasizing privacy and end-to-end encryption protection. Most recently, it started a national campaign about WhatsApp by bringing back some of the cast of the TV show “Modern Family.”
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