The WhatsApp messaging app has evolved strategically from being just an sms replacement app to becoming a messaging app relevant to both individuals and businesses.
WhatsApp has grown through innovation and adaptation. But one thing that has made this platform stand out overtime remains its friendly user-interface.
Therefore, this blog post is going to discuss the evolution of WhatsApp and how a platform that was just built to help individuals curb sms charges turned out to become one that individuals and businesses can’t do without.
The Little beginnings of the WhatsApp messaging app
When Jan Koum decided to build this platform, his sole purpose was to help individuals curb sms charges. Little did he know that his little innovation was going to become a worldwide communication channel.
Born in 2009, the “WhatsApp inc” as it was referred to then, was launched by Jan Koum and Brian Acton—Two former Yahoo employees.
This messaging platform emerged as a plan to reduce the high costs of sms texting, focusing on basic messaging features.
However, as the years rolled by, different features were added to help improve customer usage and satisfaction.
The History of the WhatsApp messaging app: A Story
Born out of a need to help individuals communicate seamlessly without wasting so much money on sms, the WhatsApp messaging app quickly realized the growing use of the platform.
The story of WhatsApp’s early days shows the importance of resilience as an entrepreneur.
You could learn one or two from the story of Jan Koum and his partner, Brian Acton, so read on!
When the iPhone version was created, Fishman, a Russian and his friends didn’t like the app so much as it drained their batteries and crashed a lot.
Jan felt discouraged and decided his plans had failed, but his partner Brain, told him it was too early to give up.
In June 2009, apple added push notifications to their mobile IOS and Jan utilized this opportunity and added the same push notifications on WhatsApp.
Fishman and his friends loved this new method of communicating and updating each other using statuses. Therefore, this fascinating idea birthed Whstsapp 2.0.
WhatsApp 2.0
Because of the phone charges that WhatsApp saved many users, the demand was there for this instant messaging app. This led to the WhatsApp beta. All you needed at this point was to have a phone number to gain access.
No more creating an account and sharing usernames with each other. This beta life was added in August 2009.
In October of that same year, Acton managed to get 5 of their ex-colleagues to invest $250,000 into WhatsApp. This officially made Acton the co-founder in November.
At that same time, WhatsApp was able to fully launch in the App Store. People started asking for the blackberry and Nokia version and Jan hired Chris Peiffer who created the versions and they were launched in 2010.
The Funding of the WhatsApp Messaging App
After reaching out for 8 long months, Sequoia capital’s Jim Goetz Secured a meeting with Jan and Brian.
He proposed to become a strategic advisor for the group and invest $8 million and then take 15% of the firm.
He promised that he would make zero advertising moves with the platform and the team agreed.
By Feb 2013, just 4 years after creating WhatsApp, this messaging app boasted of a whooping 200 million users and 50 staff.
At this same time, Sequoia funded the app again. The business model changed from $0.99 download fee to a free download fee and then an annual sub.
However, Facebook realized this platforms potential and purchased it in 2014. In that same year, WhatsApp introduced the read receipt feature.
WhatsApp Milestone from 2015-2020
WhatsApp kept on growing and evolving over the years. In 2016, WhatsApp stopped charging annual fees.
Let’s look at the features that were added from 2015-2020.
Voice calls
WhatsApp added this feature 6 years after its launch and made it so much easier for users to make calls without incurring phone charges. All you needed was to have a data subscription.
WhatsApp web
This was introduced in 2015. This helped individuals to access WhatsApp on a computer or laptop.
Video calling
WhatsApp also introduced this feature in 2016. This made it possible for individuals anywhere in the world to see and talk to one another.
End-to-end encryption
This feature was added in 2016 to improve user security and privacy. With this feature, WhatsApp made it possible that every text or call you make with someone on WhatsApp stays between the both of you.
Status updates
WhatsApp introduced this feature in 2017. This made it possible for users to share text, photos and videos. Presently, users can even share voice notes on the WhatsApp status.
WhatsApp Business
A huge play in the evolution of WhatsApp. Businesses recognized the importance of WhatsApp for customer interaction and support and started using it more.
However, WhatsApp created the WhatsApp business app in 2018 due to its limited features.
This paved a way for small and medium sized business owners to integrate their business with WhatsApp and utilize its user-friendly interface, plus the added features on the business app made it possible for individuals to grow their business on WhatsApp.
Disappearing Messages on the WhatsApp messaging app
WhatsApp also introduced this feature in 2020. This made it possible for users to set messages to disappear after a specific time.
Group Video calls
WhatsApp enabled this feature in 2020. Initially, WhatsApp limited this to just 8 participants for calls. But now, the WhatsApp messaging app has expanded to accommodate about 32 individuals for a group call.
WhatsApp messaging app: Its growth from 2021-Date
WhatsApp’s evolution has made it fun, more secure and still user-friendly for its users.
let’s look at the features that WhatsApp added from 2021 till date.
View once media
This feature introduced in 2021 made it possible for users to set their photos and videos to a one time view. Therefore, the images or videos will disappear once viewed.
Community creation
Introduced in 2022. This feature encourages users to create groups of groups. Facilitating communication and collaboration within larger communities.
Multi-device support
WhatsApp launched this feature to help individuals connect their WhatsApp acc to more than one device. Introduced in 2023.
In that same year, WhatsApp introduced polls in group chats.
Screen sharing—WhatsApp messaging
WhatsApp introduced this feature in 2023 to help users share their screen during video calls.
As i said earlier, WhatsApp has grown and evolved through innovation and adaptation. But one thing that made this messaging app top other messaging platforms and amase over 2 billion users worldwide in over 180 countries is its user-friendly interface.
Conclusion
15 years and still going strong?
I think it’s safe to say that WhatsApp is here to stay and that there are more updates to look out for from this messaging app.
Therefore, to always enjoy the restores dished out by this platform, it’s important to always update your WhatsApp account. I hope you enjoyed learning about the evolution of this platform as much as I did.
