WhatsApp: monthly usage in selected markets Q3 2022
WhatsApp usage worldwide
As of July 2021, WhatsApp counted roughly two billion global monthly active users. The Facebook-owned mobile messaging service is particularly popular in mobile-first countries, with more than 18 million downloads during the first quarter of 2021 in India alone. However, after the app’s 2021 controversial privacy update, 36 percent of users in the country have intended to drastically reduce their WhatsApp usage and start using other communication channels, like SMS, e-mails, or migrate to WhatsApp competitors Telegram and Signal.WhatsApp privacy update woes
WhatsApp’s latest major privacy policy update, which was announced on January 4, 2021, was not well received by users worldwide. The most controversial aspect of the update saw WhatsApp requesting users to give permission to share data like mobile phone numbers and locations with its parent company Facebook or stop using the app altogether. As a result, WhatsApp is facing a 267 million U.S. dollars fine from the Data Protection Commission for not respecting Europe’s GDPR, as well as a 197,000 euros fine in Turkey for privacy rules violations.Subsequently, many users chose to migrate towards competing messaging platforms like Telegram and Signal. During the first quarter of 2021, Telegram downloads worldwide spiked, reaching 64.24 million downloads in the Asia-Pacific region. Similarly, Signal reached 51 million installs in January 2021, up by more than 4100 percent compared to the previous month.