WhatsApp is a VoIP communication app sort of like Skype or Facebook Messenger. Anybody who has the app on their phone can talk to others who have the app and unlike Skype or Facebook, WhatsApp uses your mobile number for the registration hence anybody who has your mobile number can find you in the WhatsApp app. If you had Googled "What is WhatsApp" you would have found many references explaining what it is and how to use it, one good and well-summarized explanation is from Wikipedia:
WhatsApp Messenger is a freeware, cross-platform messaging and Voice over IP (VoIP) service owned by Facebook. It allows users to send text messages and voice messages, make voice and video calls, and share images, documents, user locations, and other media. WhatsApp's client application runs on mobile devices but is also accessible from Windows and Mac desktop computers, as long as the user's mobile device remains connected to the Internet while they use the desktop app. The service requires users to provide a standard cellular mobile number for registering with the service. Users could originally communicate only with individuals or informal groups on WhatsApp, but in January 2018, WhatsApp released a standalone business app targeted at small business owners, called WhatsApp Business, to allow companies to communicate with customers who use the standard WhatsApp client. The client application was created by WhatsApp Inc. of Mountain View, California, which was acquired by Facebook in February 2014 for approximately US$ 19.3 billion. By February 2018, WhatsApp had over one and a half billion users, making it the world's most popular messaging application at the time. It has become the primary means of communication in multiple countries, including Brazil, India, Pakistan and large parts of Europe, including the United Kingdom and France. As the article states, in some parts of the world WhatsApp has become the primary way to communicate especially since in some countries people often use primarily data hence they can text, send pictures and make audio and video calls all without the need for much of a plan with calling minutes and SMS, as long as you have data and most or all of the people you communicate with also have WhatsApp it can be used virtually exclusively. You can also set up a WhatsApp group where people can call in to discuss various topics and there are many of those out there and the one from the signature is one of them. WhatsApp is not nearly as popular in the US and Canada as it is in Europe, South America, India and Pakistan, I don't think it is that popular in Chine a where WeChat I think is dominant. Of course that is not surprising considering WhatsApp is owned by Facebook and the Chinese government is not about to give them any significant access. -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Joshua Hendrickson Sent: Sunday, August 25, 2019 11:23 PM To: [email protected] Subject: what is whats app? Hi to all. I just saw something at the end of a message on this list talking about an app called whats app. What is that? Is it something I might be interested in? Is it a free app, or does it cost? -- Joshua Hendrickson Joshua Hendrickson -- The following information is important for all members of the V iPhone list. If you have any questions or concerns about the running of this list, or if you feel that a member's post is inappropriate, please contact the owners or moderators directly rather than posting on the list itself. Your V iPhone list moderator is Mark Taylor. Mark can be reached at: [email protected]. Your list owner is Cara Quinn - you can reach Cara at [email protected] The archives for this list can be searched at: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "VIPhone" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/viphone/CADUoy9uWHOUiMdmpKu5B8mvjsT9SvJ_Oc%2BJvwP3CphN4rYuDWQ%40mail.gmail.com. -- The following information is important for all members of the V iPhone list. If you have any questions or concerns about the running of this list, or if you feel that a member's post is inappropriate, please contact the owners or moderators directly rather than posting on the list itself. Your V iPhone list moderator is Mark Taylor. Mark can be reached at: [email protected]. Your list owner is Cara Quinn - you can reach Cara at [email protected] The archives for this list can be searched at: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "VIPhone" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/viphone/MWHPR06MB25736F970337B5A689D6B20FC7A10%40MWHPR06MB2573.namprd06.prod.outlook.com.
