This app was slow to rise at first but blew up big after a few struggles. The WhatsApp messenger is a freeware that can be downloaded and used across different platforms or operating systems. It is an instant messaging app with voice calls using IP voice service. Since it is a service that connects through the Internet it is able to provide video calls to its users as well as other forms of communication media like sending over pictures and video files.
The App can be used by downloading the mobile app for Android, Blackberry, IOS, and Windows devices while you can use it via the browser for all these type of devices. This recent development of being able to use the App on the browsers regardless of the type of device has truly made the app platform independent.
A Bit of History
Before it was acquired by Facebook in 2014 for $19.3 billion, the owners of WhatsApp were former employees of the once renowned Yahoo!, a once fierce competitor of Google. In the early days the WhatsApp application struggled for a bit until the acquisition by Facebook were its user base skyrocketed.
Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook said that the acquisition was largely due to his vision of a basic free Internet for the whole world using Internet.org of which he stated that WhatsApp will be part of the program.
It was only recently that its founder Jan Koum removed the subscription fee of $1 per year to remove the barrier that some potential users experience due to their lack of credit card ownership.
WhatsApp Cool Features
WhatsApp did not spike in popularity by accident. It has a lot of amazing features that has captured the attention of many WhatsApp users. If you are a WhatsApp user, here are some WhatsApp features that you ought to know.
You can choose to send messages to multiple contacts
This can be done using the Broadcast lists, wherein everyone on that list will receive the message you sent using that feature without being able to reply. The recipient won’t know who else you sent the message to when using this feature. This is useful when you are trying to blast an announcement to all your contacts during events and even emergencies.
Hide your online activities
This particular feature is for when you are just too busy or too preoccupied to be bothered by your friends or co-workers on WhatsApp. Turning this feature on will masked the last time you were online. This allows you to stay alert for really important messages without being noticed if you are online or not, making it easier for you to ignore the not-so-urgent messages.
It is compatible with most AI services
If you have been on the keyboard all day, naturally you would find it difficult to respond to text messages even if some of them are important. Well, with WhatsApp you are able to circumvent this minor hiccup by using AI to do the typing for you. Depending on the device you are using you can use Siri or Google Assistant to do the typing for you.
