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"We can assume Facebook is paying for the user base" Respectfully, I don't know if that's the right assumption. Facebook has users. A metric shit-ton of them.

"We can assume Facebook is paying for the user base" Respectfully, I don't know if that's the right assumption. Facebook has users. A metric shit-ton of them. :) In fact, many of WhatsApp's users are Facebook users, and vice versa. This isn't a user acquisition play. It's a user engagement play. Facebook -- like everyone else in the world -- is well aware that it has an engagement problem. It also has a retention problem, especially with younger users (who are flocking to messenger programs). Finally, Facebook has some challenges internationally, where the social networking space is more regionally fragmented. WhatsApp is a lot bigger overseas than it is in the US (largely because it's a free alternative to SMS in countries where SMS carries significant charges). So what's this really about? This is another defensive acquisition on Facebook's part. Entirely overpriced, in my humble opinion. Instagram was, in retrospect, an incredibly smart defensive buy. WhatsApp at $16 billion? Less clear.

xerophtye 13y ago
>WhatsApp is a lot bigger overseas than it is in the US (largely because it's a free alternative to SMS in countries where SMS carries significant charges). Not nitpicking here, just genuinely curious. What do they charge in US for sms? Here the cheapest package i suppose would be 20,000 SMS per month for $1 per month. I normally use the 1200 SMS per week for 10 cents per week though, as my usage isn't that much.
- usaar333 13y ago
  At this point, I think it's effectively free on every major carrier when the customer has a data plan. I haven't had limits on SMS for at least 4 years (been on Sprint and Verizon).
  - xerophtye 13y ago
    So how much do you pay per month to a carrier?
- ojii 13y ago
  likely a reason WhatsApp is popular in Europe (or at least Switzerland) is that one is likely to have friends in other countries, and international SMS are a rip-off. At least that's why I use LINE/gtalk/fb messenges a lot these days, as they don't care about where people live/are.

xerophtye 13y ago

>WhatsApp is a lot bigger overseas than it is in the US (largely because it's a free alternative to SMS in countries where SMS carries significant charges). Not nitpicking here, just genuinely curious. What do they charge in US for sms? Here the cheapest package i suppose would be 20,000 SMS per month for $1 per month. I normally use the 1200 SMS per week for 10 cents per week though, as my usage isn't that much.

usaar333 13y ago
At this point, I think it's effectively free on every major carrier when the customer has a data plan. I haven't had limits on SMS for at least 4 years (been on Sprint and Verizon).
- xerophtye 13y ago
  So how much do you pay per month to a carrier?
ojii 13y ago
likely a reason WhatsApp is popular in Europe (or at least Switzerland) is that one is likely to have friends in other countries, and international SMS are a rip-off. At least that's why I use LINE/gtalk/fb messenges a lot these days, as they don't care about where people live/are.