Now with roughly two billion monthly users, the platform has undergone significant transformations since launch, introducing new features, new functionalities and even being acquired by technology giant Meta.

To celebrate the social media giant’s 15 year anniversary, Mobile Marketing Magazine looks back at the revolutionising updates of WhatsApp and how it has adapted to mobile communication along the years.

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Messaging to multimedia

WhatsApp initially launched as a simple text messaging app in 2009, allowing users to send and receive messages via the internet.

However, recognising the growing demand for richer communication, the social media giant quickly launched multimedia content on its app.

As a result, users can now share photos, videos, voice messages and documents on the platform.

Voice and video calling

Six years after its launch, the platform introduced voice calling, an addition to its previous multimedia offerings.

This feature provided users with a cost-effective and efficient way to make phone calls all around the globe via the internet.

Following this success, WhatsApp further elevated its communication capabilities by introducing video calling in 2016, offering users face-to-face interactions, free of price.

End-to-End encryption:

In 2016, WhatsApp implemented end-to-end encryption, ensuring that messages and calls remain confidential and secure. This move reinforced its commitment to protect user data from unauthorised access.

WhatsApp Web

In 2015, WhatsApp recognised the need for a seamless cross-device experience. As a result, the social media giant launched WhatsApp Web, allowing users to access their messages on a desktop or laptop computer by simply scanning a QR code.

Later, the platform expanded its reach with a dedicated desktop application, increasing convenience and allowing users to access the platform whether they are on their smartphones or desktops.

Status updates and stories:

Eight years after it launched, WhatsApp followed the likes of Facebook- now Meta, which also acquired the platform in 2014 for $19 billion– and Instagram by launching stories.

A feature similar to rival social media platforms, users can share text, photos, and videos as their status, visible to contacts for 24 hours, a move which was first introduced by Snapchat.

This addition catered to WhatsApp’s audience who desire real-time updates and sharing moments.

Group calling

WhatsApp continued to enhance its communication capabilities with the introduction of group voice and video calling. This feature allowed virtual gatherings, connecting friends and family irrespective of geographical locations and distances.

Disappearing messages and multi-device support

To enhance privacy and user control, WhatsApp introduced disappearing messages in 2020.

As a result, users can enable this feature for individual or group chats, causing messages to disappear after a week. At the same time, the platform also extended its flexibility in communication by allowing users to access the same account on multiple devices simultaneously.

WhatsApp’s journey from a simple messaging app to now a $118 billion company reflects its commitment to innovation and adapting to emerging with trends. As it continues WhatsApp remains a key player in the mobile communication industry.

The post 15 years of WhatsApp: How has the platform evolved? appeared first on Mobile Marketing Magazine.

Global technology company Meta has appointed Dentsu as the first global agency network solution provider for WhatsApp Business.

The partnership which is initially launching in the UK aims to respond to the evolving ways in which consumers interact with brands, enabling businesses to offer more personalised services.

As part of the agency’s partnership with Whatsapp, it has built a proprietary web platform for customers to manage all access with their account, providing an end-to-end managed service from creation to analysis and optimisation.

Dentsu UK and Ireland CEO, Angela Tangas said: “Customer-brand communications are in the moment and increasingly conversational. It needs to be easy and brands that embrace conversational experiences will be well-positioned to thrive.

“Our relationship with Meta is focused on helping brands achieve deeper engagement and value with their current and prospective customers, a critical enabler for growth.”

She added: “Launching a WhatsApp conversational solution, builds on our commitment to creating seamless E2E experiences. This enables brands to establish stronger, more relevant, one-on-one connections with customers, fostering trust and enhancing service experiences in the process.”

The tech giant also revealed that the partnership harnesses new advancements in AI and experience to co-develop first-to-market products and solutions in media and brand activation via Meta’s portfolio of apps.

Meta VP of Northern Europe, Middle East and Africa, Derya Matras continued: “For people and businesses across the world, WhatsApp is a great place to get business done.

“We’re looking forward to seeing how Dentsu brings the power of messaging to its customers around the world so they can accomplish more right within a chat.”

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With carts, people can browse a business’ catalogue, select multiple items, and then send the order in one message to the business, aligning the process with that of more traditional eCommerce platforms.

Customers can add products to their cart by tapping on the shopping button icon on the chat screen with a business. This opens up the catalogue, enabling the user to browse through the products the business is offering. Users can then tap on the products they like and tap ‘add to cart’. The cart can be edited by tapping ‘view cart’.

Once the customer is happy with what is in their cart, they can send it to the seller as a WhatsApp message. Orders are not final until they have been confirmed by the seller.

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Users can now assign custom chat wallpapers to different friends and family, making chats more easily distinguishable and making it less likely you’ll send a message to the wrong person. In addition, WhatsApp has added its default doodle wallpaper in more colours, added more wallpaper options to its library, and made it possible to have different wallpapers when switching between light and dark mode.

WhatsApp has also began rolling out a search feature for stickers, enabling users to find stickers using text or emojis or browse through common sticker categories. As such, the app is asking sticker creators to begin tagging their stickers with emojis and text.

Staying on the topic of stickers, the World Health Organisation’s ‘Together at Home’ sticker pack is now available in animated form, having already proved popular with users throughout the pandemic in static form.

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The shopping button, which looks like a storefront icon, provides immediate access to a business’ catalogue, enabling the user to browse products and start a conversation about an item they see with one tap. In the past, users had to click into the business’ profile to see if the business had a catalogue.

The button replaces the voice call button in business chats. Now, the voice call option is housed within a general ‘call’ button where the user can select either voice or video call.

The rollout of the shopping button comes a few weeks after WhatsApp made several changes to its Business app and Business API. Changes included making it possible for users to make purchases from directly within a chat, providing businesses with the option to manage WhatsApp messages via Facebook’s hosting services, and beginning to charge for some Business services.

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The Facebook-owned messaging app has begun rolling out the ability to make messages disappear after seven days. With ‘Disappearing Messages’, users can select specific chats where their texts and media vanish seven days after sending them.

Even with the Disappearing Messages feature, however, messages may still exist once they have been deleted through quoted text, forwarded messages, backed up messages and, of course, screenshots – because, as many have found on other platforms where messages vanish, nothing ever really disappears.

WhatsApp has also updated its storage management tool to make it easier for users to delete the content that’s unnecessarily saved to their phone. The option still exists for users to prevent WhatsApp from automatically downloading content on to their devices, but now users with automatic downloads activated can easily review and delete items also.

The redesigned tool, available under ‘Manage Storage’ within Settings/Storage and Data, places items that have been forwarded multiple times into a dedicated list and files larger than 5MB in another for bulk review and deletion. Users can also see how much storage space is being taken up by individual chats and clear these out.

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Users will soon have more ways to see the products that businesses have available and be able to make purchases from directly within a chat. At the same time, the Facebook-owned app will start making it easier for businesses to integrate the in-chat payment into their existing commerce and customer solutions.

Over the next few months, WhatsApp will also expand its partnerships with business solution providers and provide businesses with the option to manage their WhatsApp messages via the hosting services that Facebook plans to offer.

In order to make this all a reality and continue providing a free service to its more than 2bn users, WhatsApp says it will have start charging its business customers for ‘some’ of the services it offers, though no information has been provided on which services or how much Facebook plans to charge businesses.

“Though there is much more we need to build. For the last two years, we’ve provided the WhatsApp Business app and WhatsApp Business API to help businesses of all sizes manage their chats. We’ve listened to feedback on what’s worked and believe WhatsApp can help make messaging the best way for consumers and businesses to connect,” said WhatsApp in a blog post.

In non-business-related WhatsApp news, the app now also gives users the option to mute their chats forever, meaning users can choose to never receive notifications when messages are received in specific chats. The mute options on the app are now eight hours, one weeks, and always.

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The ‘Search the Web’ feature enables users of the Facebook-owned app to tap a magnifying glass next to forwarded messages and have related news results and other sources of information searched for on the internet that either confirm or deny the validity of the forwarded message.

The app promises that the search will not compromise the end-to-end encryption of its platform and that WhatsApp will never get to see the message itself.

Search the Web is being rolled out in Brazil, Italy, Ireland, Mexico, Spain, the UK, and the US for users on the latest versions of WhatsApp on Android, iOS, and WhatsApp Web.

The introduction of the feature follows on from WhatsApp’s decision to put a limit on frequently forwarded messages earlier this year. It was also at this point that WhatsApp revealed that it had begun testing the ability for users to Search the Web.

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Mobile phone service WhatsApp has announced it will now allow up to eight people on voice and video calls, doubling from the previous limit of four participants. WhatsApp said the feature is being updated to reflect the current needs of citizens experiencing prolonged separation and isolation due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“Over the last month, people on average are spending over 15bn minutes talking each day on WhatsApp calls, well above a typical day before the pandemic,” said WhatsApp in a blog post. “And just like written messages, all those calls are protected with end-to-end encryption. We have built group calling in a way that makes it available for as many users as possible, including people on lower-end devices and slow network conditions.”

Along with the WhatsApp app for Apple and Android products, users can also take advantage of the new feature on a Facebook Portal device. To use the new eight-person participant feature, all participants must download the most updated version of WhatsApp, starting today. 

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Facebook

WhatsApp was acquired by Facebook in 2014 for $19bn (£13.9bn), and WhatsApp founders Jan Koum and Brian Acton publicly expressed an aversion to allowing ads on the service. Indeed, in a blog post following the acquisition, Koum wrote that the deal would not have happened if WhatsApp “had to compromise on the core principles that will always define our company, our vision and our product”. In 2016, they changed WhatsApp’s terms of service to forbid displaying ads in the app. Both have since left the company. Acton left in September 2017 and Koum in May 2018 in the midst of the Cambridge Analytica scandal.

According to the WSJ report, WhatsApp has disbanded a team that had been assembled to look at how best to integrate ads into the platform. Code they had written in support of the initiative has since been deleted. So while WhatsApp currently boasts 1.5bn users, Facebook has still not worked out how to make money from it, having scrapped the $0.99 annual subscription fee that was in place prior to its acquisition of the company. Perhaps its best hopes lie in monetising the potential WhatsApp offers for businesses to use it as a one-to-one communications channel with consumers, a relatively new field, but one that some forward-thinking companies are beginning to exploit.

The results of a study commissioned by marketing technology company, Pure360, suggest that Facebook’s decision is the right one. It commissioned research consultancy Censuswide to carry out two nationally representative samples of British adults, the first, in August 2019, with 2,000 respondents, the second, in October 2019, with 2007 respondents. Only 5 per cent of respondents said they would be open to receiving marketing messages from brands, including those they have not shopped with previously, on their WhatsApp channels during the working day, while only 9 per cent said they would be happy to see ads on WhatsApp that were relevant to them, from brands they had previously engaged with.

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