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[Portman]

I just started using it six months ago after a friend switched away from the iPhone and we wanted to keep up our lulz pictures. Then I started using it heavily once I switched to Android last month. It is neat how we can send audio and other things along with the basic text.

At first I was thinking "oh crap" when I saw the news (I'm one of the Facebook outcasts) but I don't think they'll mess with it and since people pay for it I can't seem them putting it behind a Facebook account wall either (measuring myself here).

And plus it's amazing how quickly you get used to it and wonder how you got by without it. Now if I can just keep myself from saying that about Facebook

 

[Emwitus]

I just started using it six months ago after a friend switched away from the iPhone and we wanted to keep up our lulz pictures. Then I started using it heavily once I switched to Android last month. It is neat how we can send audio and other things along with the basic text.

At first I was thinking "oh crap" when I saw the news (I'm one of the Facebook outcasts) but I don't think they'll mess with it and since people pay for it I can't seem them putting it behind a Facebook account wall either (measuring myself here).

And plus it's amazing how quickly you get used to it and wonder how you got by without it. Now if I can just keep myself from saying that about Facebook

I think people are missing the point here. You don't send any invites on what's up, as long as you have a friend in your add book and they have whatsapp you immediately see them on the app. All you have to do is share your phone number. Also, Mms like audio/video/pics are almost instantneous. Its amazing how simple it is to send a voice message to my friends internatonaly and locally. Just hold the speaker icon on the right and release when your done and they get or in less than a second

 

[RoadHazard]

I like clean as well and Whatsapp is clean & extremely reliable. Themes? I've never encountered any themes and if they exist they're optional. Emoticons are in hangouts as well as every messaging app on the planet. No one forces you to use them if you don't want to.

Yeah, but it would still mean two separate messaging apps on my phone, right? One for people who use Whatsapp and one for those who don't (to whom I'll still have to send SMS messages instead). And I just don't want that. This app for this person, that app for that person, sigh. All messaging in one app, please.

Or can you send SMS messages in Whatsapp? Can't seem to find anything about that in the FAQ, just about using SMS to invite people to use the service.

 

[Halcyon]

I have never understood how to integrate these types of apps into what I'm doing. The only use I ever had was something like kik because it was easier to talk anonymous women i'm trying to fuck on the internet without them having my phone number.

Using it requires everyone you know to use it right? I don't see me saying to my handful of friends "hey i know we all currently text each other with our phones, but lets all download some other program and use that instead for no readily apparent reason".



Is it so big internationally because you don't have to have a phone plan, and can just walk to your local internet cafe and talk to who you need?

 

[thelatestmodel]

You know what, go for it. Throw your money away. I hope it comes back to bite them in the ass.

 

[Accoun]

Well, I personally don't really understand some people's hatred of Google+. You don't have to actually use it, you can just have an inactive account and it won't hurt you or anyone else.

And I personally don't really understand that "just make a blank/inactive account" when it comes to Facebook/G+. If I don't like it and don't want it, why would I give in and use it?
And given that more and more things require them, of course there are people that find it annoying.

 

[criesofthepast]

Yeah, but it would still mean two separate messaging apps on my phone, right? One for people who use Whatsapp and one for those who don't (to whom I'll still have to send SMS messages instead). And I just don't want that. This app for this person, that app for that person, sigh. All messaging in one app, please.

Or can you send SMS messages in Whatsapp? Can't seem to find anything about that in the FAQ, just about using SMS to invite people to use the service.

In a perfect world I think we are all with you, one app to do it all on every platform working together. I hate having multiple apps that do the same thing but only house a handful of friends in each. No one I know uses hangouts unfortunately. I have to text some, what's app others, Facebook messenger a few more...just the way it is. If only everyone could get on the same page! But whatsapp really does do a good job at what it is.

You can't send SMS with what's app.

 

[Emwitus]

You know what, go for it. Throw your money away. I hope it comes back to bite them in the ass.

Y'all don't understand how big this app is.

I have never understood how to integrate these types of apps into what I'm doing. The only use I ever had was something like kik because it was easier to talk anonymous women i'm trying to fuck on the internet without them having my phone number.

Using it requires everyone you know to use it right? I don't see me saying to my handful of friends "hey i know we all currently text each other with our phones, but lets all download some other program and use that instead for no readily apparent reason".



Is it so big internationally because you don't have to have a phone plan, and can just walk to your local internet cafe and talk to who you need?

I'm pretty sure you'll be surprised by the number of your friends that already have it installed. All you need is there phone number which you already have

 

[GunslingerVit]

Y'all don't understand how big this app is.

Yes. Yes I do. It's 12MB according to the Play Store.

 

[Emwitus]

Yes. Yes I do. It's 12MB according to the Play Store.

Exactly. But it can store more than 12mb. mirakuru.

 

[victreeb3l]

heh

 

[Wiz]

Many people will be confused about the price because What'sApp isn't that big in the US. But most of the people in my contacts who use it are from other countries. And 400 million people is a lot. Facebook is trying to find a way to make money off them.

 

[Tobor]

I'm an American, so of course I've never used WhatsApp. Everyone in my family and the majority of my friends have iPhones and use iMessage.

I have heard of it though! A friends wife is from Venezuela and uses WhatsApp to talk to her family and friends back home.

 

[Loomba]

heh

Twitter turned him down too, guy deserves a good payout. Obviously talented.

 

[Faith]

Of course Americans have never heard of Whatsapp. I mean they don't even know where the other continents are.

 

[Vitet]

Yeah, but it would still mean two separate messaging apps on my phone, right? One for people who use Whatsapp and one for those who don't (to whom I'll still have to send SMS messages instead). And I just don't want that. This app for this person, that app for that person, sigh. All messaging in one app, please.

Or can you send SMS messages in Whatsapp? Can't seem to find anything about that in the FAQ, just about using SMS to invite people to use the service.

I'm pretty amazed how people still sends SMS to be honest.
At least here no one sends it simply because they're not free

 

[GDGF]

I use this from time to time to talk to a friend in England.

Pretty decent app. I've had it for like a year, but I had no idea it was 14 billion dollars decent lol

 

[Phoenix]

There is no way the NPV computation for Whatsapp came to $19 billion. That's ludicrous.

 

[snack]

There is no way the NPV computation for Whatsapp came to $19 billion. That's ludicrous.

Only four billion of it was cash.

 

[Faith]

They just overbid Google.

 

[braves01]

Only four billion of it was cash.

That's still stock that could have used to buy other things

 

[D4Danger]

They just overbid Google.

Google can go buy more thermostats or whatever dumb shit they're doing

 

[BigDug13]

Of course Americans have never heard of Whatsapp. I mean they don't even know where the other continents are.

Yep, all 300 million of us have the exact same knowledge-base. Gotta love generalizations. It's like me saying people from the Middle East have never heard of toilet paper because they all wipe their butts with their bare left hand.

 

[Faith]

Yep, all 300 million of us have the exact same knowledge-base. Gotta love generalizations. It's like me saying people from the Middle East have never heard of toilet paper because they all wipe their butts with their bare left hand.

I just wanted to say the Americans are egocentric. They don't know much about the world out there. They live in their own world, USA could literally exist without the rest of the world.

Google can go buy more thermostats or whatever dumb shit they're doing

They are actually developing modern warfare robots and AIs. I think Google will be the biggest warfare tech company in the world in 50 years.

 

[GunslingerVit]

What other apps are you guys switching to?

 

[Guy.brush]

https://threema.ch/de/

is Threema any good? Is seems like they do proper encryption and messages immediately get deleted from the server after they have been sent. No datamining going on. Dunno anything about the Swiss guy that started it though.

The funny thing is: Due to these messaging systems being based on actual phone numbers, it is very easy to just switch to another app. The hurdle is not as big as in other social networks. A constant switch up from less secure to newer more secure apps and WhatsApp loosing popularity fast would be hilarious.

 

[Arjen]

What other apps are you guys switching to?

I'm not switching in the near future, almost everyone I know uses Whatsapp and will probably keep using it.

 

[GunslingerVit]

is Threema any good?

Check out this article:
http://missingm.co/2014/02/fighting-dishfire-the-state-of-mobile-cross-platform-encrypted-messaging

 

[RoadHazard]

I'm pretty amazed how people still sends SMS to be honest.
At least here no one sends it simply because they're not free

SMS is still great for the simple reason that everyone with a phone can receive them, no matter the OS or what apps you have installed. It's the only way I know I can definitely get in touch with someone (besides calling them), so it's what I typically default to. Then you have people spread out over a bunch of other services; the only one pretty much everyone I know uses is Facebook, and I don't want that installed on my phone (still use it a bit through my browser though, since people can't seem to stop sending me messages there even though I always tell them it's not a good way to quickly reach me).

And I personally don't pay per SMS, I haven't in a long time. My current plan includes 10,000/month (which is sooo much more than I could ever use - I mainly got the plan for the data and minutes, although having what is effectively unlimited texting isn't a bad thing either). And I think the same (although maybe not quite that many) is true for most people I know.

But I do wish there was a universal IM standard/protocol that all phones could do by default, like SMS but over your data connection. That would be awesome. But I guess the carriers wouldn't like that, since it would mean they couldn't keep making money on something that costs them absolutely nothing (SMS).

 

[Zoopa]

https://threema.ch/de/

is Threema any good? Is seems like they do proper encryption and messages immediately get deleted from the server after they have been sent. No datamining going on. Dunno anything about the Swiss guy that started it though.

The funny thing is: Due to these messaging systems being based on actual phone numbers, it is very easy to just switch to another app. The hurdle is not as big as in other social networks. A constant switch up from less secure to newer more secure apps and WhatsApp loosing popularity fast would be hilarious.

+ The interface of the app is great
+ all chats (including group chats) are encrypted by default
+ Encryption is secure (if no serious programming bugs exist)
+ You can additionaly verify people that you meet in person
+ You have the choice whether you want to synchronise contacts with their server or not
+ Upcoming features sound promising: use same account on multiple devices, desktop client

- (Not free)
- Not open source (at least encryption can be somewhat validated)
- Only Android and iOS supported at the moment
- Not widely used (yet)

 

[Dreams-Visions]

Interesting. I've never used this app, nor do I know anyone who has.

 

[Cromat]

I hope Americans who don't know WhatsApp would give it a try now. It's so fast and simple it makes SMS or iMessage feel like pigeon mail in comparison.

According to my usage stats, I receive 119 WhatsApp messages every day on average and send 71.

One of the best features: share location. I waste zero time on "where are you" type conversations now. I seriously hope Facebook doesn't end up ruining it with some nonsense.

 

[Antagon]

SMS is still great for the simple reason that everyone with a phone can receive them, no matter the OS or what apps you have installed. It's the only way I know I can definitely get in touch with someone (besides calling them), so it's what I typically default to. Then you have people spread out over a bunch of other services; the only one pretty much everyone I know uses is Facebook, and I don't want that installed on my phone (still use it a bit through my browser though, since people can't seem to stop sending me messages there even though I always tell them it's not a good way to quickly reach me).

And I personally don't pay per SMS, I haven't in a long time. My current plan includes 10,000/month (which is sooo much more than I could ever use - I mainly got the plan for the data and minutes, although having what is effectively unlimited texting isn't a bad thing either). And I think the same (although maybe not quite that many) is true for most people I know.

But I do wish there was a universal IM standard/protocol that all phones could do by default, like SMS but over your data connection. That would be awesome. But I guess the carriers wouldn't like that, since it would mean they couldn't keep making money on something that costs them absolutely nothing (SMS).

Whatsapp hooks into your phone really well though. It shows up in your contacts right next to the sms icon if one of your contacts uses it, so once you've got it installed it takes exactly as much work to send someone a whatsapp message as an sms. Plus it supports groups, which is great.

Since everyone I know seems to use Whatsapp I'll keep using it. Some people decided to switch to another app because of the facebook buyout, but I expect them to be back soon. Don't really understand why they switch, as they all have Facebook profiles and switch to apps of companies they really don't know anything about.

 

[Withnail]

SMS is awful. Hate the fact that messages still have to be divided into 160 characters, hate how slow it is, hate the way you can't really do group messaging, hate the lack of support for multimedia. It's archaic technology which was good in the days of the Nokia 3310 but is hilariously outdated on a smartphone. Sending SMS feels like watching VHS tapes.

 

[Shambles]

Gahhhhh, I didn't realize my hatred for facebook could reach even greater heights. Why compete when you can just buy out the competition? Gross. Anyways whatsapp is off my phone now. Trying out Line now. Hangouts is still an utter mess and BBM finds my email address offensive so I can't even sign into that. Blackberry truly does deserve to go out of business if they are that incompetent.

 

[Just_myles]

I have been using LINE a lot. Is whatsapp similar?

 

[Spinluck]

sometimes i wish i was programming prodigy.

 

[linsivvi]

I have been using LINE a lot. Is whatsapp similar?

Whatsapp actually has less features, but then LINE is trying to be a social networking app while Whatsapp is strictly a messenger, so it gets the job done.

LINE and all the newer messenger apps did put pressure on Whatsapp to catch up though. I think Whatsapp is the last of the major ones to have voice message and they used to have a super small group size of 10.

sometimes i wish i was programming prodigy.

It's less about being a programming prodigy but more about being at the right place, at the right time, and a bit of good fortune.

 

[Mario007]

I'm an American, so of course I've never used WhatsApp. Everyone in my family and the majority of my friends have iPhones and use iMessage.

I have heard of it though! A friends wife is from Venezuela and uses WhatsApp to talk to her family and friends back home.

This is a ludicrous amount of money to be paying for Whatsapp no matter how you look at it. Viber just got bought a week ago for 900 million. That's a difference of 18 billion!!! Viber has a 100 million users less than Whatsapp, sure, but a 100 million users doesn't make up those 18 billion. This is instagram all over again, Facebook overpaying simply because they can.

 

[linsivvi]

This is a ludicrous amount of money to be paying for Whatsapp no matter how you look at it. Viber just got bought a week ago for 900 million. That's a difference of 18 billion!!! Viber has a 100 million users less than Whatsapp, sure, but a 100 million users doesn't make up those 18 billion. This is instagram all over again, Facebook overpaying simply because they can.

Viber does not have just 100 million less users. Many of these apps report total registered users, which in this case is 280 million for Viber. They only have 100 million active users, and Whatsapp has 4 times that.

Is it still over-priced? Surely looks like it. As it stands, however, Whatsapp is way bigger than everything else except WeChat.

Whatsapp is also not comparable to Instagram at all. It is the primary method of communication for hundreds of millions of users. Think about it. You have a smartphone and the default method of talking to your contacts is Whatsapp.

 

[zhao3gold]

I have Whatsapp on my phone, but seldom use it. I am using WeChat every day. Yes, I am Chinese...

 

[The M.O.B]

I use WhatsApp and Viber and it's mostly with people living in another country at the moment.

 

[jorma]

So now facebook will be able to sell my phonenumber to advertisers. Awesome. :-/

 

[Mario007]

Viber does not have just 100 million less users. Many of these apps report total registered users, which in this case is 280 million for Viber. They only have 100 million active users, and Whatsapp has 4 times that.

Is it still over-priced? Surely looks like it. As it stands, however, Whatsapp is way bigger than everything else except WeChat.

Whatsapp is also not comparable to Instagram at all. It is the primary method of communication for hundreds of millions of users. Think about it. You have a smartphone and the default method of talking to your contacts is Whatsapp.

I didn't know about the distinction but that still does not justify the difference between how much the apps were bought for in the past 2 weeks. I honestly must have underestimated whatsapp because I only literally one person that uses it. All my other friends are on Viber and WeChat. And i meant that it is similar to Instagram in that facebook in that case also overpaid for the app big time, and the same is the case here.

 

[linsivvi]

I didn't know about the distinction but that still does not justify the difference between how much the apps were bought for in the past 2 weeks. I honestly must have underestimated whatsapp because I only literally one person that uses it. All my other friends are on Viber and WeChat. And i meant that it is similar to Instagram in that facebook in that case also overpaid for the app big time, and the same is the case here.

Yeah they absolutely overpaid. I guess their thinking is to get the absolute biggest, and to seal the deal before others can outbid them. When they saw that $10B offer from Google that was turned down, they wanted to prevent Google from making a bigger bid and snatch Whatsapp before others can.

WeChat is huge and unlike Whatsapp is actually making billion of dollars from microtransactions but I don't see it ever explode outside China and a handful other countries.

 

[numble]

I wonder how long this kind of apps will survive? I mean tele operators must have something in their pockets to combat these apps, they are losing that sweet SMS money. Data caps are already in place but I doubt they help much with apps such as Whatsapp.

They can just turn the tables and charge the apps in a net neutrality-free world. We already see this in some countries and carriers where they offer Whatsapp/whatever for "free" with your data plan (using the app doesn't affect your data cap). The apps will try to outbid each other in hopes of getting the marketshare.

 

[Quasar]

At first I was thinking "oh crap" when I saw the news (I'm one of the Facebook outcasts) but I don't think they'll mess with it and since people pay for it I can't seem them putting it behind a Facebook account wall either (measuring myself here).

I still think in time it will be integrated in some way. Might be 3-5 years but I do think it will happen.

And it does make me wonder about when they will try and buy up the other major non-US messaging services like LINE and WeChat.

35$ per user on a revenue of 1$/year/user is pretty damn crazy, aside from I guess as a defensive move.

 

[numble]

I still think in time it will be integrated in some way. Might be 3-5 years but I do think it will happen.

And it does make me wonder about when they will try and buy up the other major non-US messaging services like LINE and WeChat.

35$ per user on a revenue of 1$/year/user is pretty damn crazy, aside from I guess as a defensive move.

Tencent (market cap $140 billion) is as big of a company as Facebook; I doubt they are going to sell WeChat.

 

[Quasar]

SMS is still great for the simple reason that everyone with a phone can receive them, no matter the OS or what apps you have installed.

Yeah. That's one thing that saddens me about the future. Everyone supported SMS and email. The future is an untold mess of isolated communities, where people need keep track of what platform and communication services people use.

 

[RoadHazard]

Whatsapp hooks into your phone really well though. It shows up in your contacts right next to the sms icon if one of your contacts uses it, so once you've got it installed it takes exactly as much work to send someone a whatsapp message as an sms. Plus it supports groups, which is great.

My process when sending a message (or calling, or whatever) is to open the relevant app and finding the contract (with whom I will usually already have an ongoing conversation) there. I rarely go through my contacts and then decide how I want to contact them. The latter typically only happens when I want to contact someone and I'm not sure what details I have on them.

SMS is awful. Hate the fact that messages still have to be divided into 160 characters, hate how slow it is, hate the way you can't really do group messaging, hate the lack of support for multimedia. It's archaic technology which was good in the days of the Nokia 3310 but is hilariously outdated on a smartphone. Sending SMS feels like watching VHS tapes.

The 160 character limit isn't really an issue these days though, since all modern phones join multi-part messages into one on the other side. And on the sending side it's really just the psychological issue of seeing the character counter decrease and a new message get started.

But sure, SMS is an ancient technology with many limitations we shouldn't have to deal with anymore. It's just that it's still the only completely universal messaging standard (besides email). Everyone can receive an SMS, something that cannot be said about any other service. I would love it if there was a similar standard for IM over your data connection, something all phones natively knew how to deal with. But unfortunately we're not there yet (and I don't even know if anything like that is being worked on at all).