In July 2017, WhatsApp added support for file uploads of all file types, with a limit of 100 MB. In November 2023, WhatsApp added a “voice chat” feature for groups with more than 32 members. In 2022, WhatsApp added the ability for users to turn off their online status. Three days after announcing Lucky Friends casino the Facebook purchase, Koum said they were working to introduce voice calls. Although Acton was working on another startup idea, he decided to join the company.

Data Linked to You

However, the WhatsApp privacy policy does not apply in the EU, since it violates the principles of GDPR. In August 2014, WhatsApp was the most popular messaging app in the world, with more than 600 million users. By early January 2015, WhatsApp had 700 million monthly users and over 30 billion messages every day.

WhatsApp Business

{

  • In January 2021, WhatsApp announced a controversial new privacy policy allowing WhatsApp to share data with its parent company, Facebook.

    • {

  • On October 14, 2021, WhatsApp rolled out end-to-end encryption for backups on Android and iOS.

    • |}{

  • They link to and sync with WhatsApp actively running on a supported primary phone.

    • |}

  • In September 2019, WhatsApp was criticized for its implementation of a ‘delete for everyone’ feature.

    • {

  • A Wired report noted the attack was able to inject malware via calls to the targeted phone, even if the user did not answer the call.

    • |}

  • In 2022, WhatsApp added the ability for users to turn off their online status.

|}
As of 2025, the software requires at least Android version 5.0 or iOS version 15.1 respectively. WhatsApp also introduced chat filters, allowing users to sort their chats by All, Unread or Groups. This was implemented only on Samsung phones, with plans to expand to Android and iOS “soon”.

    {

  • In August 2022, WhatsApp launched an integration with JioMart, available only to users in India.

    • |}

  • In July 2025, WhatsApp stopped developing the Windows UWP-based app due to poor support and deprecation of the UWP framework by Microsoft.

    • {

  • When a user deletes media for everyone, WhatsApp does not delete images saved in the iOS camera roll and so those users are able to keep the images.

    • |}

  • This ability (named multi-device support) began testing in July 2021 and rolled out to all users in April 2023.

    • {

  • This allows users to send messages between other messaging apps and WhatsApp while maintaining end-to-end encryption.

    • |}

  • Visual effects also became available, adding visual filters to a user’s video feed.

Murders in India

At the time, it was the largest acquisition of a venture-capital-backed company in history. Sequoia Capital received an approximate 5,000% return on its initial investment. Days after the announcement, WhatsApp users experienced a loss of service, leading to anger across social media. In 2016, WhatsApp was accused of copying features from a then-unreleased version of iMessage.

Security and privacy

  • It allows users to send text messages, voice messages, and video messages, make voice and video calls, and share images, documents, user locations, and other content.

    • {

  • The organization reported a massive drop-off in traffic for the blocked services, though the country’s government made no official statements about the block.

    • |}

  • On May 9, 2014, the government of Iran announced that it had proposed to block the access to WhatsApp service to Iranian residents.

    • {

  • In September 2017, WhatsApp’s co-founder Brian Acton left the company to start a nonprofit group, later revealed as the Signal Foundation, which developed the WhatsApp competitor Signal.

    • |}{

  • In November 2023, WhatsApp added a “voice chat” feature for groups with more than 32 members.

    • |}

  • One of the most important parts of WhatsApp Desktop is that, as mentioned above, it offers the same features as the mobile version but on PC.

Many WhatsApp Desktop users are unaware of the numerous privacy-related options. You can also decide who can see your profile pictures and statuses and even lock your user session by setting a special password. One of the most important parts of WhatsApp Desktop is that, as mentioned above, it offers the same features as the mobile version but on PC.