WhatsApp, the popular instant messaging app, announced that it has completed 12 years of its journey. While announcing its 12th anniversary, the Facebook-owned company revealed that it handles more than one billion calls each day. WhatsApp debuted back in February 2009 and was originally designed to allow sharing of statuses between its users. It, however, expanded and evolved to become a full-fledged messaging solution and eventually started to replace traditional voice and video calls. The app also allows users to make payments and send stickers. It has also of late been criticised for its updated privacy policy that is scheduled to be implemented on May 15.

Through a tweet , WhatsApp announced the completion of 12 years. The tweet talked about some of the previously announced statistics, including the user base of more than two billion monthly active users that sends 100 billion messages. However, it also mentioned that the app, known for its instant messaging experience, connects more than one billion calls on a daily basis.

WhatsApp added  voice calling  support to its app back in February 2015 and expanded that to video calling in November 2016. It also further enhanced the experience by enabling group voice and video calling support in August 2018.

Apart from calling, WhatsApp offers features including payments and sharing of stickers and GIFs to serve users as a one-stop instant messaging solution.

Co-founded by former Yahoo employees Brian Acton and Jan Koum back in 2009, WhatsApp was acquired by Facebook in February 2014. The acquisition by the social media giant has helped the messaging app to scale further. However, it also raised questions on WhatsApp's privacy and how it is sharing user data with Facebook and its subsidiaries.

Source- NDTV News

Country- U.S