![\"WhatsApp](\"http:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/WhatsApp-user-numbers.png\")
<\/a>WhatsApp user numbers<\/p><\/div>\n
Other popular messaging platforms include Facebook Messenger, which hit 500 million users in November, as well as another Tencent platform, WeChat, which is also close to the half a billion mark (100 million outside of China).<\/p>\n
Send and self-destruct platform, SnapChat, has also gained in popularity, with comments from its CEO alluding to monthly active user numbers reaching far higher than – if not double – the 100 million reported in August 2014.<\/p>\n
Interestingly, the much talked-about acquisition of WhatsApp by Facebook in 2014 did wonders for another messaging app, Telegram, which saw its user numbers shoot to 50 million by the end of the year.<\/p>\n
Telegram added 34 million users in 2014 – with 8 million users joining the fold just days after the announcement of the acquisition.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe spent USD$0.00 on advertising Telegram and trusted you \u2013 our users \u2013 to spread the word. The results are amazing and are entirely your achievement,\u201d Telegram wrote in a Blog Post.<\/p>\n
Most popular messaging apps by monthly active users (MAU)<\/h3>\n\n\n\nPlatform<\/strong><\/td>\nMAU
\n<\/strong><\/td>\nAs of
\n<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\nWhatsApp<\/td>\n 700 million<\/td>\n January 2015<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \nViber<\/td>\n 608 million<\/td>\n August 2014<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \nLine<\/td>\n 580 million<\/td>\n October 2014<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \nQQ<\/td>\n 542 million*<\/td>\n November 2014<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \nFacebook Messenger<\/td>\n 500 million<\/td>\n November 2014<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \nWeChat<\/td>\n 438 million**<\/td>\n August 2014<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \nSkype<\/td>\n 300 million<\/td>\n September 2013<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \nTango<\/td>\n 250 million<\/td>\n November 2014<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \nKik<\/td>\n 185 million<\/td>\n November 2014<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \nKakao<\/td>\n 154 million<\/td>\n September 2014<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \nSnapChat<\/td>\n 100 million<\/td>\n August 2014<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \nBBM<\/td>\n 100 million<\/td>\n October 2014<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \nTelegram<\/td>\n 50 million<\/td>\n December 2014<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table><\/div>\n* Smartphone users
\n** 100 million outside China<\/small><\/p>\nMissing in action<\/h3>\n
Two companies absent from the listing above, which have been notoriously silent\u00a0when it comes to boasting user numbers about their chat platforms, are Google and Apple.<\/p>\n
Apple’s iMessage and Google’s Hangouts are default ecosystem-specific applications used for messaging (as well as video and voice messaging) on iOS and Android devices, respectively.<\/p>\n
Presumably, then, it would be fair to assume that there are as many platform users as there are users of Android and iOS devices – but without official numbers from the companies, it would simply be speculation.<\/p>\n
Additionally, Google Hangouts is multi-platform, and can be installed on many other devices – including iOS devices – making it even more difficult to pin a reasonable range.<\/p>\n
In 2014, Apple CEO Tim cook boasted that Apple had sold 800 million iOS devices, while total Android devices sold have been pegged at around 1 billion.<\/p>\n
However, one should keep in mind that iMessage and Hangouts were\u00a0not always\u00a0the default messaging\u00a0services for their respective\u00a0platforms, and older devices should\u00a0be\u00a0excluded from\u00a0total sales to get a more accurate number.<\/p>\n
The Google Play store also notes that the Hangouts app has been installed between 500 million and 1 billion times.<\/p>\n
It should also be noted that while these figures are not necessarily reflective of active users on the respective messaging platforms, they do give an idea of scale.<\/p>\n
More on messaging<\/h3>\n
Google to launch new mobile messaging app?<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\nIntel has a new take on instant messaging<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\nYahoo buys self-destruct messaging app<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n
Platform<\/strong><\/td>\n| MAU | \n<\/strong><\/td>\n As of | \n<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n WhatsApp<\/td>\n | 700 million<\/td>\n | January 2015<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | Viber<\/td>\n | 608 million<\/td>\n | August 2014<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | Line<\/td>\n | 580 million<\/td>\n | October 2014<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | QQ<\/td>\n | 542 million*<\/td>\n | November 2014<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | Facebook Messenger<\/td>\n | 500 million<\/td>\n | November 2014<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | WeChat<\/td>\n | 438 million**<\/td>\n | August 2014<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | Skype<\/td>\n | 300 million<\/td>\n | September 2013<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | Tango<\/td>\n | 250 million<\/td>\n | November 2014<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | Kik<\/td>\n | 185 million<\/td>\n | November 2014<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | Kakao<\/td>\n | 154 million<\/td>\n | September 2014<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | SnapChat<\/td>\n | 100 million<\/td>\n | August 2014<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | BBM<\/td>\n | 100 million<\/td>\n | October 2014<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | Telegram<\/td>\n | 50 million<\/td>\n | December 2014<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table><\/div>\n | * Smartphone users Two companies absent from the listing above, which have been notoriously silent\u00a0when it comes to boasting user numbers about their chat platforms, are Google and Apple.<\/p>\n Apple’s iMessage and Google’s Hangouts are default ecosystem-specific applications used for messaging (as well as video and voice messaging) on iOS and Android devices, respectively.<\/p>\n Presumably, then, it would be fair to assume that there are as many platform users as there are users of Android and iOS devices – but without official numbers from the companies, it would simply be speculation.<\/p>\n Additionally, Google Hangouts is multi-platform, and can be installed on many other devices – including iOS devices – making it even more difficult to pin a reasonable range.<\/p>\n In 2014, Apple CEO Tim cook boasted that Apple had sold 800 million iOS devices, while total Android devices sold have been pegged at around 1 billion.<\/p>\n However, one should keep in mind that iMessage and Hangouts were\u00a0not always\u00a0the default messaging\u00a0services for their respective\u00a0platforms, and older devices should\u00a0be\u00a0excluded from\u00a0total sales to get a more accurate number.<\/p>\n The Google Play store also notes that the Hangouts app has been installed between 500 million and 1 billion times.<\/p>\n It should also be noted that while these figures are not necessarily reflective of active users on the respective messaging platforms, they do give an idea of scale.<\/p>\n More on messaging<\/h3>\nGoogle to launch new mobile messaging app?<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Intel has a new take on instant messaging<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Yahoo buys self-destruct messaging app<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n |