What is WhatsApp? WhatsApp Review

WhatsApp is a very popular cross-platform application for communication between smartphones. This application allows you to instantly receive messages from friends, family and colleagues with the help of push notifications. You can switch from SMS to WhatsApp for free to send and receive text messages, pictures, audio files and video messages.

About WhatsApp

WhatsApp is an application for communication between smartphones that can be used by users of iPhone, Android, Windows Phone, WhatsApp Messenger, Symbian and Blackberry phones.

WhatsApp is registered based on mobile phone numbers. When registering, you need to enter your mobile phone number and receive a verification SMS. Then WhatsApp will search for people who are already using it in your mobile phone contacts and automatically add them to your mobile phone contact list.

Application Features

No hidden fees

Once you and your friends download the app, you can chat as much as you want. Send one million messages a day to your friends for free! WhatsApp uses your Internet connection: 3G/EDGE or Wi-Fi where available.

Multimedia Message Service

Send videos, pictures and audio files to your friends. (To send and save video files, you need to use an iPhone)

No international charges

Just like you don’t have to pay extra fees to send international emails, you don’t have to pay extra fees to send WhatsApp messages internationally. As long as your friends have WhatsApp Messenger installed, you can chat with friends around the world without the hassle of international text messaging charges.

Mobile phone number association

Why bother remembering multiple passwords or usernames? Just like SMS, WhatsApp works with your phone number and integrates seamlessly with the messages in your existing phone contacts.

No login/logout required

You no longer need to worry about exiting the application on your computer or other devices. WhatsApp can always stay active and connected by using push notification service.

No need to add friends

This application can automatically connect you to your contacts using the information in your phone's address book. Contacts who have installed WhatsApp Messenger will automatically appear in the "Favorites" list, which is similar to a friend list. (Of course, you can edit your "Favorites" list at any time and in any way)

Offline information

Even if you miss a push notification or turn off your iPhone, WhatsApp will save the messages you receive while offline until you retrieve and view them when you use the app again.

Display Status

You can use WhatsApp's status feature to tell your contacts whether you are busy, in a meeting, working out, or online.

In addition to the above software features, WhatsApp has many more advantages: you can share addresses, exchange contact information, set personalized wallpapers, notification ringtones, horizontal display mode, accurate information editing time record, email chat history, and broadcast information and multimedia messages to multiple contacts at the same time. In addition, this application also has many other advantages.

Make a call

On June 13, 2016, Apple's developer conference WWDC was held in San Francisco, where it was announced that WhatsApp could be used to make calls.

App charging

For Android, Nokia (S40, S60) and BlackBerry users, WhatsApp is usually free for one year, after which an annual fee of $0.99 is required. However, if the same account has previously paid for download and use rights on the iOS version, there is no need to pay again. In the iOS version, users must first pay $0.99 before they have the right to download and use it on the App Store.

Application Evaluation

advantage

1. Fast speed within the app

2. Support multi-tasking and fast resume speed

3. Support multi-language input

4. Support image and voice clip transmission

5. Support location sharing (Location)

6. Support Push Notification and Live Tile

7. Support group conversation

8.Support emoji function

shortcoming

1. The speed of entering the App is relatively slow

2. No support for horizontal prompts

Brief History

On February 24, 2009, Koum registered a company that specializes in developing mobile phone "status" applications. The company's tentative name is WhatsApp. Another alternative name is Zap. Its purpose is to develop an application that can indicate whether the owner is available to answer calls.

In May 2009, the first version of the product did not cause any response. After June, Apple added push notifications in iOS 3.0. This made Koum start to rethink the function of WhatsApp, hoping to reposition it as a full-featured cross-platform chat application that can not only directly use the mobile phone address book as a "pre-built social network", but also log in directly with the mobile phone number. In September, the app was launched, and Ekton decided to start a business with Koum and led a round of investment. They hope to jointly explore a unique business model that can generate sufficient revenue and ensure growth within a controllable range, thereby providing sufficient infrastructure.

On August 28, 2011, Koum's team announced that the app would refuse to publish advertisements. In the same year, Jim Goetz, founding partner of Sequoia Capital, invested $8 million in WhatsApp.

On June 12, 2013, the number of chat messages processed by the mobile messaging app WhatsApp reached 27 billion per day.

On February 20, 2014, the mobile communication service (IM software) WhatsApp will be acquired by the social network Facebook for approximately $19 billion. On October 3, the EU antitrust regulator officially approved Facebook's acquisition of the mobile messaging startup WhatsApp.

On April 21, 2015, the iOS version of WhatsApp was updated, adding new voice call functions, the ability to share videos, pictures and links across apps, the ability to take and share pictures within the app, and the ability to share multiple photos and videos at once.

In October 2019, WhatsApp fixed a security vulnerability that allowed hackers to hack into the software with malicious GIFs.

Security flaws

On January 11, 2018, although WhatsApp, a chat software owned by Facebook, uses end-to-end encryption, German cryptographers still found a way to embed it into WhatsApp group chats.

Researchers have discovered a security flaw in WhatsApp that allows anyone with control of the app's servers to add new people to private group chats without the administrator's permission.

Once a new person joins, the phone of each group chat member will automatically share the key with this person, allowing them to fully view all future messages, but not previous content. The effect is just like joining the group chat after obtaining approval from the administrator.

Controversial Events

Ban controversy

In March 2013, the Saudi Communications and Information Technology Commission said that internet services such as Viber, WhatsApp and Skype violated Saudi law.

In June 2013, it was reported that Saudi Arabia would block WhatsApp, an internet-based communications service, within weeks if the company failed to comply with demands from the Saudi telecom regulator.

Charge Dispute

WhatsApp's paid use has caused controversy. Many people think that the server operating costs (users pay for their own use) are not a problem, but users can only pay through credit cards or electronic platforms, which brings inconvenience to some people who do not have credit cards or do not accept electronic platform payments (such as students or people who are skeptical about the security of electronic payment platforms). Another possibility is to use the US dollar charging method to complete the real-name login, because the credit card login data is real-name.

Fault events

At 6:30 pm on April 14, 2019, users in Europe, America and some Southeast Asian countries were unable to use WhatsApp and could not send or receive messages. The affected areas include the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Morocco, Ukraine, Greece, and North America, while Asian countries include Southeast Asian countries such as the Philippines, Indonesia and Singapore.