Showing posts with label whatsapp. Show all posts
WhatsApp Soon Becoming Police's Powerful Assistant
WhatsApp, the popular cross-platform messaging app, is gradually becoming a very powerful tool for police departments to curb crime. The Lucknow Police has introduced a WhatsApp complaint tool where users can send their complaints about traffic offences.
Police is also planning to connect the helpline no. 1090 with WhatsApp to curb eve teasing. Railway Police is also considering to use WhatsApp to keep a track on ticket collectors, vendors selling food products, and coach attendants.
The Police department in Mumbai has set up several WhatsApp groups aimed at helping people to lodge complaint about for crime such as eve teasing. The Delhi and Kochi police also have WhatsApp helpline number to help people report about corruption in the police department. With messaging apps such as WhatsApp becoming popular among users, it's heartening to see security agencies are also staying up to date with the latest trend. Source DeccanChronical.
Whatsapp to be Soon Updated with Voice-calling Facility
WhatsApp may introduce voice call facility in its 4.5.5 version. The new version will have a 4-button series, which will include options like switch to text message, call mute, directing the call through device speaker and hanging up. Rakuten (OTCPK:RKUNY) bought Viber for $900 million a few days before Facebook bought WhatsApp. Viber has over 25 million users in India, and it allows users to call any phone number across the globe, including a non-Viber number at nominal prices through its Viber Out service. The user has to purchase Viber Out credit through the application and make the payment through the app store for using the service. Viber Out credits can also be purchased from the website. Facebook can introduce a similar service in India once voice call facility is available on WhatsApp.
This is beneficial for Facebook, as it need not charge its users for using its unbundled messenger app and the ad-free messenger, WhatsApp. Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) has 100 million users in India, while WhatsApp has 48 million users in the country. The company earns less than 0.1% of its revenue from India. Smartphone sales in India are expected to increase from 44 million units in 2013 to 80 million units by the end of 2014. The Indian mobile payment market is expected to grow from $86 million in 2011 to a $1.15 billion market by 2016. Last year, India topped the list of global remittances, with $70 billion in remittances. Facebook can monetize its unbundled messenger app and WhatsApp through mobile payments and remittances.
TechCrunch reports that WhatsApp will add a voice calling facility
that will be built into the app (much like BBM Voice) in Q2 2014. The
report is based on word from WhatsApp CEO Jan Koum, who happily struck a
$19 billion deal-of-a-lifetime with Facebook last week. Whether the
service will be made available for free, or will levy charges upon users
(much like Skype does), remains to be seen. Koum also said that voice calling will first arrive on iOS and Android, followed by "some Nokia and BlackBerry phones."
WhatsApp Hits 48 Million Monthly Active Users in India
WhatsApp CEO Jan Koum has revealed (in
an interview with Re/code) that it has 48 million monthly active users
in India, its single largest source of growth. The messaging service has
reached 500 million monthly active users milestone globally. Koum added
that WhatsApp now processes more than 700 million photos and 100
million videos every day.
WhatsApp had 40 million MAUs in February
2014 in India and has added nearly eight million MAUs in just two
months. The company's user base in India has doubled in the last eight
months, WhatsApp had 20 million MAUs in August 2013 and 25 million MAUs
in November 2013. Geographically, India, Mexico, Brazil and Russia are
the company's biggest sources of growth for Whatsapp, revealed Koum.
WhatsApp revealed the numbers in a blog post
stating, "Thanks to all of you, half a billion people around the world
are now regular, active WhatsApp users. In the last few months, we've
grown fastest in countries like Brazil, India, Mexico, and Russia, and
our users are also sharing more than 700 million photos and 100 million
videos every single day. We could go on, but for now, it's more
important that we get back to work - because here at WhatsApp, we're
just getting started."
