WhatsApp Hits 500 Million Users

 
Wow! Have you heard the news? Facebook announced not too long ago that it was acquiring WhatsApp. The deal was for roughly $19 billion in cash plus stock options.

And they are pleased to announce that today WhatsApp co-founder Jan Koum wrote that the service now has 500 million active users! That’s a lot of users!

So how exactly did Koum come up with the name of the company? Believe it or not WhatsApp got its name because it sounded like “what’s up.”

WhatsApp is unique because it was able to use push notifications to keep users engaged and encourage more people to join. Facebook was interested and acquired WhatsApp just about a year later when it hit 450 million users.

Whatsapp so far has been operating independently, it needs to make sure that Facebook brand doesn’t fade and disappear from mobile messaging market.

The one arguably frustrating thing Facebook users will notice is that the company will soon discontinue the messaging feature of its main app. Users will then need a separate app to communicate if they want to use direct message.