WhatsApp Now Has 1.5 Billion Active Users, 200 Million in India

WhatsApp global user base reaches 1.5 billion. India still the largest user of the messaging application.

India has almost 200 million WhatsApp users

(Photo: iStockphoto)

WhatsApp now has 1.5 billion monthly active users (MAUs) who are exchanging nearly 60 billion messages on a single day, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced on Thursday.

In an earnings call after announcing the fourth quarter results, Zuckerberg said that Facebook-owned Instagram is now the most popular Story-sharing product, followed by WhatsApp.

Both Instagram "Stories" and WhatsApp "Status" features now have 300 million daily active users (DAUs) – compared to 178 million Snapchat users, TechCrunch reported.

On 19 February 2014, Facebook acquired WhatsApp for $19 billion, its largest acquisition to date. WhatsApp currently has over 200 million monthly active users in India. The company has not disclosed what percentage of the 1.5 billion daily users are from India.

Also Read: WhatsApp’s Monthly User Base Now Stands at 1.3 Billion

To help businesses communicate better with their customers in India, WhatsApp last month officially rolled out "WhatsApp Business", a free-to-download Android app for small businesses in the country.

The app will help customers with information such as a business description, email or store addresses and website.

In addition to sending messages to consumers, businesses can also track the metrics of the messages sent, giving them clarity on what works with its users, and what doesn’t.

Also Read: WhatsApp Business Android App Goes Live in India: How’s It Work?

The new app, available on Google Play Store, will make it easier for companies to connect with customers and more convenient for its users to chat with businesses that matter to them.

In India, 84 percent of SMBs think that WhatsApp helps them communicate with customers and 80 percent of SMBs think that WhatsApp helps them grow their business.

Only last year, the Facebook-owned company said about 55 billion messages and 4.5 billion photos were shared everyday globally on its platform. The app, which supports 60 languages, also sees one billion videos being shared on a daily basis.