Facebook-owned WhatsApp reaches 900 million monthly active users

[wraggster]

http://o.aolcdn.com/dims-shared/dims3/GLOB/crop/5184x2912+0+0/resize/1200x674!/format/jpg/quality/85/http://hss-prod.hss.aol.com/hss/storage/midas/1a4e18e12428cb837bfd659b054e189a/202583114/16908770206_25ddd05940.jpg (http://www.engadget.com/2015/09/04/facebook-whatsapp-900-million-mau/)WhatsApp has grown tremendously from the time Facebook acquired it (http://www.engadget.com/2014/02/19/facebook-to-buy-whatsapp-for-16-billion/) in 2014 for $19 billion. The messaging app's founder, Jan Koum, has justannounced (https://www.facebook.com/jan.koum/posts/10153580960970011) on Facebook that the service has reached 900 million monthly active users (MAU). That means it has gained 100 million new ones in less than five months since Koum celebrated (http://techcrunch.com/2015/04/21/not-hatin-just-sayin/) reaching 800 million subscribers in April. That number isn't too far off from its parent company's either, which announced 1.49 billion MAUs (http://newsroom.fb.com/company-info/) as of June this year. In comparison, Facebook's own Messenger app reached (http://recode.net/2015/06/12/facebook-messenger-hits-700-million-total-users/) 700 million MAUs in June, mostly due to its split from the social network's main application. Considering the app has beeninstalled (http://venturebeat.com/2015/03/12/whatsapp-becomes-the-second-non-google-app-to-hit-1-billion-installs-on-android/) at least a billion times on Android, the new user count isn't that surprising. We just hope its continued success doesn't lead to even moredivorces (http://www.engadget.com/2014/12/03/whatsapp-cited-in-italian-divorces/) in Italy.

http://www.engadget.com/2015/09/04/facebook-whatsapp-900-million-mau/