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WhatsApp claims 400 million active users; is 'fed up' of others' bogus numbers

WhatsApp claims 400 million active users; is 'fed up' of others' bogus numbers

By Ketan Pratap | Updated: 20 December 2013 12:47 IST

WhatsApp, the popular mobile instant messaging service, claims to have 400 million monthly active users.

WhatsApp's CEO, Jan Koum in a blog post revealed the news and also noted that the company added 100 million active users in the last four months alone.

The blog post said, "Our goal in creating WhatsApp was to empower people through technology and communication, no matter who they are, or where they live. WhatsApp has reached a milestone that no other mobile messaging service has achieved: 400 million monthly active users, with 100 million active users added in the last four months alone. This isn't a count of people who just registered for WhatsApp - it's the number of people who are actively using the service every single month."

The mobile focused messaging company told AllThingsD that WhatsApp wants to turn the discussions of the shared numbers by other mobile instant messaging services to be about active users and not registered users. AllThingsD quotes Koum, "We're a bit fed up and frustrated about people talking about registered users. We think it's important for us as a leader in the space to speak up and be ethical."

A recent report had suggested that some messaging apps have been using marketing muscle to compete with big names in instant messaging service. The report claimed that WeChat, a unit of Tencent, had budgeted up to $200 million for marketing overseas.

In November, Line messaging app claimed to have a user base of 300 million worldwide, out-of-which it added 100 million users in just four months. However, Line declined to reveal the number of active users currently using its services. AllThingsD cites Kik Interactive's figures of 100 million users, though notes that the company never detailed the number of active users.

The WhatsApp blog post also noted that the company currently has just 50 employees, and mainly include engineers. Further, it claimed to reach the 400 million mark without spending money on targeted ads or even marketing campaigns.

WhatsApp has been growing rapidly and has been a leader in the mobile instant messaging service. The popular mobile instant messaging service reached 300 million active user base in August and in no time has reached 400 million active users.

AllThingsD has shared some statistics of the WhatsApp service which include 16 billion messages per day; about 32 billion messages are received per day and some 500 million images are sent per day by users on WhatsApp.

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Further reading: Apps, WhatsApp, Mobile Instant Messaging Service, Instant Messaging, WhatsApp Mobile Instant Messaging Service

Ketan Pratap

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Ketan Pratap is the editor at Gadgets 360 - with over 12 years of experience covering the technology domain. With a breadth and depth of knowledge in the field, he's done extensive work across news, features, reviews, and opinion pieces. But what's truly inspiring about Ketan is how he spends his free time. He's often found gazing at snow-capped mountains from over 20,000 feet while sitting on the hood of his car, taking in the breathtaking beauty of nature. His passion for the great ...More