WhatsApp: What is new in 2020?

Reliablecounter Team

In the old days MIRC and Orkut were the most popular social platforms.

With time, Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, IMO, Snapchat, etc. gained popularity.

All these social media tools got popular very quickly and people added them to their lifestyle.

People started posting their whereabouts and daily activities.

Then in July 2019, Facebook was fined $5 billion under privacy violations.

This brought light to the issue of privacy and how these social media have clawed deeply into our lives.

WhatsApp played well in this aspect with its end-to-end encryption technology which ensures privacy. Today, it is the most commonly used messaging app in the world.

In this article, I will tell you some new features of WhatsApp launched in 2020 and how WhatsApp makes money.

So, let’s find out.

What is WhatsApp?

WhatsApp Messenger, also known as WhatsApp is a free messaging and Voice over IP service. It lets you make video and voice calls, send text messages, share documents and much more. To make WhatsApp work, you just need internet connection.

More than 2 million people are currently using WhatsApp for personal as well as business purposes. WhatsApp was first launched in January 2009 by Brian Acton and Jan Koum and then later acquired by Facebook, Inc. for approx. $19 million in February 2014.

You can use WhatsApp on your mobile if you are an android or iOS user. And you can also sync your WhatsApp with Mac or Windows using the WhatsApp web feature.  Access to WhatsApp is granted when you scan your personal QR code from the WhatsApp application through your mobile phone.

How WhatsApp Works

To make WhatsApp work on your phone, you first need to install the WhatsApp application from Google Play store or Apple Store. Once downloaded, you open the application and then you will be required to provide a standard cellular mobile number for registering with the service. The sign up to this service free and you can send and receive data for free. Then you can start chatting with your friends and families, etc.

How Does WhatsApp Makes Money?

Like some of the users, you must also be thinking that such a big platform is offering its services for free so how WhatsApp does makes money. As Facebook has paid billions of dollars to acquire WhatsApp, it definitely needed a revenue stream from WhatsApp. So, Facebook basically leverage on user data available and generating more relevant user data.

Though the WhatsApp is end-to-end encrypted, users still have to accept a privacy update to keep using WhatsApp. This privacy update lets the Facebook use all the data. Facebook then establish and track certain basic metrics associated with each user and create specific Facebook ads.

Another way through which WhatsApp makes money is its business platform called WhatsApp for Business API. Though the messaging service is free for business but if you create brochures and product catalogs then you have to pay. The app also charges a fee if businesses take longer than 24 hours to reply to a query. This puts a pressure on business to reply promptly to the messages.

Facebook is already making plans to modify WhatsApp’s revenue model and make some good money from 2 million users. You can check further that how you can make money using WhatsApp in this article. Do check it and let me know in comments your views about it.

Core features of WhatsApp

  • Voice and video calls: You can do video group call with up to eight participants on one call.
  • Voice messaging: You can use this feature to record and send voice messages.
  • End-to-End Encryption: Ensures secure communication in a way that only people who are messaging can read the messages.
  • Photos and video sharing 
  • Document sharing: You can send PDFs, slideshows, spreadsheets etc. and no need to go for the hassle of sending documents through emails.
  • Location sharing: You can share live location with your friends and families for safety. And also if you have called someone at your place just send your current location and the map will guide that person to you.
  • Desktop access: WhatsApp web sync your mobile WhatsApp on your Mac or PC.
  • WhatsApp Business: New service of WhatsApp business account has been launched which is dedicated to business for connecting with their customers and showcase their products conveniently.

WhatsApp Uses

·      WhatsApp for Personal use

Earlier people used to send SMS messages which are expensive to send, especially in case of international messages. WhatsApp took this opportunity to create such platform where you can send messages for free by just using internet connection.

·      WhatsApp for Business

As I have mentioned above that initially WhatsApp was launched for personal communication but people started using it more for business conversations too. This opportunity was very well captured by WhatsApp and in January 2018, WhatsApp released a standalone business app targeted at small business owners, called WhatsApp Business. This app allowed businesses to communicate with their customers who use standard WhatsApp application. Also the registered businesses can create their product catalogs too.

·      WhatsApp Payments

In the world of payments, WhatsApp took the opportunity to launch WhatsApp Pay. WhatsApp Pay is a peer-to-peer money transfer feature that has been launched in Brazil and India. It allows users to make in-app payments and money transfers.

What is New in WhatsApp 2020?

·      Dark Mode

The Dark mode feature in which WhatsApp has a black background with white text on top was recently launched for both Android and iOS versions of apps. This feature was launched to reduce the strain on the eyes after lots of screen time and especially in low-lit environments.

·      Self-destructing Messages

Self-destructing message feature lets you set a time limit for how long the messages will be shown (for now 7 days). Once you activate this feature, the new messages sent to a chat will disappear after 7 days. In this way your conversation will not be crowded and more private. WhatsApp is currently testing this feature on a small group of users.

·      Search Options

With new search options you can search photos, videos, audio or documents directly.

·      New Privacy Settings

This feature allows you to control who can add you to groups, and admins can send you a private invite.