WhatsApp is one of the most popular messaging apps in the world, with an estimated 1.5 billion active users every month. It’s used all over the world to keep in touch with friends and family, as well as for business purposes. But who invented WhatsApp?
WhatsApp was founded in 2009 by two former Yahoo! employees, Jan Koum and Brian Acton.
The pair had been working at Yahoo! for several years when they decided to leave the company and pursue their own venture. They initially planned to build a web-based game, but eventually shifted their focus to a messaging app instead.
The idea for WhatsApp was inspired by Apple’s then-new App Store–specifically, by how easy it was to find and download apps on the iPhone. Koum and Acton envisioned an app that would allow users to communicate with each other without having to pay for SMS messages. They also wanted it to be extremely secure and private.
Koum and Acton launched WhatsApp in 2009, initially only available on iOS devices. Over the next few years, they released versions of the app for other platforms such as Android and Windows Phone. In 2014, Facebook purchased WhatsApp for $19 billion, making it one of the most successful tech acquisitions ever.
Conclusion:
Jan Koum and Brian Acton are credited as inventors of WhatsApp after launching the messaging app in 2009. The app quickly grew in popularity due to its ease of use and strong security features, eventually being acquired by Facebook for $19 billion in 2014.