In the last 24 hours, I have sent more than 100 WhatsApp messages. But none of them are so important.
In some of them I interacted with my family members. I discussed work projects with colleagues and shared news and gossip with some friends.
Even my boring messages are encrypted by default on WhatsApp. WhatsApp makes use of powerful servers located in various data centers around the world. This will cost a lot of money.
However, neither I nor the people who are chatting with me are paying any money to use it. The platform has nearly 3 billion users worldwide. So how does WhatsApp bear the cost of this?
Behind WhatsApp is a huge parent company Meta. Facebook and Instagram are also meta companies.
Personal WhatsApp accounts like mine may be free, but WhatsApp charges money from corporate customers who want to interact with users like me.
Since last year, many companies have set up free channels on WhatsApp. So you can now send messages to all those who subscribe to them.
Those companies are now paying a premium for gaining access to personal communication and transactions with customers through the app.
It is still at an early stage in the UK as compared to other countries. In India, for example, in cities like Bangalore, you can now buy a bus ticket with WhatsApp. You can choose your seat.
“If our efforts are successful, their work should be done in a chat thread that a business entity and customers do,” says Nikila Srinivasan, vice president, business messaging department at Metallo.
“Whether you want to book a ticket, get a refund or make payments, you can do all that in your chat thread,” says Nikila Srinivasan.
