WhatsApp has hit 200 million monthly active users in India as the Facebook-owned service continues its dominance in developing markets.
India remains the biggest market for WhatsApp, which had 160 million active users in the country last November. Moving forward, Brian Acton, a founder of WhatsApp, said the company will explore ways to contribute to "India's vision for digital commerce."
SEE ALSO:Of course Facebook is putting a Snapchat clone inside WhatsAppWhatsApp is simple, secure, and its vision is in line with (the government initiative) Digital India, Acton said.
He's on a one-day trip to the country, where he met India's IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad to talk about ways WhatsApp could further help empower people in rural and poor areas, as well as commercial messaging and mobile payments.
Last year the mobile wallet app Freecharge announced integration with WhatsApp that allows two users to exchange money with them.
"India is a very important country to us, and we're proud to have 200 million people who use WhatsApp to connect with their friends, family and communities," Acton said in a press statement.
Tweet may have been deleted
WhatsApp competes with Hike, an instant messaging app from Kavin Bharti Mittal, son of Sunil Bharti Mittal, founder of India's largest telecom operator Airtel.
Hike hasn't shared how many active users it has, but early last year it said Hike had been downloaded more than 100 million times. Facebook's marquee social media app had more than 155 million active users in the country as of late October last year.
Other companies have been looking at India, hoping to lure the world's second largest internet market. Earlier this week, Microsoft announced a new version of Skype, called Skype Lite which is lighter and could work on slow internet speeds and on phones with less muscle power.
WhatsApp has its own challenges, too. It has been billed as one of the biggest sources for spreading of fake news and other misleading information in the country. But for now, its dominance in India remains unrivaled.
The "Ping! Ping! Ping!" chime of WhatsApp notifications can be heard in all corners of the country, whether you're on a public bus, or a fish market. So much so that on the New Year's eve alone, more that 14 billion messages were exchanged.
TopicsFacebookWhatsApp
(责任编辑：熱點)
Here's what 'Game of Thrones' actors get up to between takes
Elizabeth Warren takes Wells Fargo CEO to the woodshed over fake accounts
The hamdog just flew out of your meat
Alcohol is the scariest monster in Anne Hathaway's 'Colossal'Olympic security asks female Iranian fan to drop protest sign'The Flying Bum' aircraft crashes during second test flight
Airlander 10, the world's largest aircraft, on Wednesday crashed at its Cardington Airfield base in
...[详细]How wireless emergency alerts work
If you live in or close to New York City, your cellphone likely made a strange sound at about 8 a.m.
...[详细]Alligators may not have changed much in 8 million years
The species of alligator roaming Florida's swamps and golf courses may be millions of years older th
...[详细]Jimmy Kimmel at the Emmys: Dos and Don'ts
This isn't Jimmy Kimmel's first barbeque – and by barbeque, we mean hosting gig at the Emmys &
...[详细]These glasses hide a fitness tracker on your face
The last time a company tried popularizing wearable tech embedded in glasses, most notably with Goog
...[详细]How activists like Jazz Jennings, Ingrid Nilsen see LGBTQ media representation
While LGBTQ media representation has soared recently, thanks to TV shows such as Transparent and Ora
...[详细]Sweet little princess is terrified of Donald Trump
Meeting a presidential candidate is the opportunity of a lifetime -- unless you're the Princess of F
...[详细]Horrifying bejeweled crocs hit the runway at London Fashion Week
The ugly shoe craze is not over. We've seen what happens when Uggs and Tevas team up, and even the h
...[详细]Teacher absolutely nails it with new homework policy
The war against homework has begun. 。A massive pile of homework after a long day at school is enough
...[详细]How activists like Jazz Jennings, Ingrid Nilsen see LGBTQ media representation
While LGBTQ media representation has soared recently, thanks to TV shows such as Transparent and Ora
...[详细]Dramatic photo captures nun texting friends after Italy earthquake
Global Fishing Watch lets you track 35,000 fishing boats in real time
