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WhatsApp now has more than 3 billion users a month
Meta’s popular messaging app WhatsApp has reached a significant milestone – it now has more than 3 billion monthly active users. This is according to the company’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, who made the announcement during Meta’s Q1 results conference call on Wednesday.
The achievement is all the more impressive given that WhatsApp remains free to use and doesn’t display any ads. The app was founded in 2009 and acquired by Facebook (now Meta) for $19 billion in 2014. Its vast user base has been instrumental in making it a key business for Meta, especially now as the company has focused its efforts on developing AI capabilities.
In fact, WhatsApp is seen as one of the primary channels for distributing Meta’s AI services. According to Meta’s CFO, Susan Li, the app continues to see the strongest adoption and engagement with Meta AI across all its apps. Most users reportedly engage with Meta AI through direct chats in WhatsApp.
While WhatsApp has become a vital platform for Meta’s AI ambitions, the company is facing significant challenges in promoting the adoption of its AI products in markets like the U.S., where people tend to stick to their phone’s default messaging app. This has led the company to release a new app, Meta AI, as a standalone product. “We hope to become the leader over time [in the U.S. messaging market], but we’re in a different position there than we are in most of the rest of the world on WhatsApp,” Zuckerberg explained during the call.
The CEO emphasized that while WhatsApp is crucial for the company’s AI plans, the Meta AI app will be vital in establishing leadership in the U.S. messaging market. This move underscores Meta’s commitment to expanding its presence and influence in this region.
The article also highlights that WhatsApp Business continues to grow rapidly, accounting for a significant portion of Meta’s revenue – $510 million – from its family of apps.
Source: https://techcrunch.com/2025/05/01/whatsapp-now-has-more-than-3-billion-users/
