WhatsApp: Difference between revisions

The combination of [[Facebook]], WhatsApp, and [[Instagram]], all owned by Meta, serves billions of active users.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Dixon |first=Stacy Jo |date=10 Jul 2024 |title=Most popular social networks worldwide as of April 2024, by number of monthly active users |url=https://www.statista.com/statistics/272014/global-social-networks-ranked-by-number-of-users/ |access-date=6 Mar 2025 |website=Statista |quote=''[...] Meta Platforms owns four of the biggest social media platforms, all with more than one billion monthly active users each: Facebook (core platform), WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and Instagram.''}}</ref>

In June 2025, Meta announced that personalized ads would be introduced globally on WhatsApp.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Scharon |first=Harding |date=2025-06-16 |title=Ads are “rolling out gradually” to WhatsApp |url=https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/06/ads-are-rolling-out-gradually-to-whatsapp/ |access-date=2025-06-18 |website=Ars Technica}}</ref> Previously, Meta (then known as Facebook) stated in 2014, after it acquired the application: <blockquote>''("[…] And you can still count on absolutely no ads interrupting your communication.")''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Facebook |url=https://blog.whatsapp.com/facebook?lang=en |access-date=2025-06-18 |website=WhatsApp Blog}}</ref> </blockquote>The personalized ads also utilize data from linked accounts on other Meta platforms.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-06-16 |title=Helping You Find More Channels and Businesses on WhatsApp |url=https://about.fb.com/news/2025/06/helping-you-find-more-channels-businesses-on-whatsapp/ |access-date=2025-06-20 |website=Meta Newsroom}}</ref>

WhatsApp forces users to stay on updated versions of the app by first giving them an in-app warning if they have not updated for a while. If the user still chooses not to update, usage of the app will be disabled entirely {{Citation needed|reason=how long before this happens? any screenshots?}}. This is problematic in certain cases, such as being in an area with poor or limited internet connectivity or using an older device that is no longer supported.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cole |first=Dylan |title=WhatsApp drops support for Android KitKat |url=https://www.androidpolice.com/whatsapp-support-android-kitkat/ |website=Android Police}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Ro |date=2024-12-22 |title=WhatsApp to drop support for older Android devices on January 1, 2025 |url=https://www.gsmarena.com/whatsapp_to_drop_support_for_older_android_devices_on_january_1_2025-news-65834.php |website=GSMArena}}</ref> <!-- In my experience, WhatsApp is one of the few apps to function near-perfectly on 3G, even rural areas. Updates however are usually 60+ MB, very chungus in comparison. I'm not sure how to incorporate this point though. -Raster -->