WhatsApp reaches 5 billion installs on Google Play Store

Reaching a 5-billion installs on Google Play Store is quite an achievement, especially for apps that do t come pre-installed through Google or OEM partnerships. WhatsApp has become world’s second n-Google app to reach 5 billion installs on Android. Previously, Facebook app reached a similar milestone, courtesy of partnerships with Samsung and or OEMs. WhatsApp, a popular Facebook-owned instant messaging app, has joined ‘ three-comma club’ (a reference from HBO’s highly-popular TV show called Silicon Valley).

numbers, however, do t only represent Google Play downloads but also pre-installed copies from partnerships with OEMs. In past, WhatsApp came to terms with certain OEMs over device-specific deals such as Samsung Galaxy S6. Until recently, WhatsApp messenger used to come pre-installed with Huawei smartphones. According to Statista.com report, WhatsApp has over half a billion active users using WhatsApp Status feature on a daily basis.

WhatsApp Status is one of highly-popular features which is similar to Stories feature of or social apps such as Snapchat and Instagram. WhatsApp Status feature allows users to share ephemeral content like photos, videos and text that automatically disappear after 24 hours.

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WhatsApp has over 1.5 billion monthly active users around world. As of 2019, WhatsApp was estimated to have 68 million users in United States. WhatsApp is most popular in markets like India and Brazil. As of July 2019, WhatsApp has more than 400 million users in India. Meanwhile, WhatsApp continues to dominate app store in terms of number of downloads. Last month, WhatsApp was most-downloaded app worldwide across App Store and Google Play.

According to app store research company Sensor Tower, WhatsApp generated close to 112 million downloads last month, representing a 30 percent year-over-year increase from same period last year. countries with highest number of WhatsApp installs were, of course, India at 32 percent, followed by Brazil at 9 percent. Following WhatsApp, TikTok amassed close to 83 million installs representing a 14 percent year-over-year increase from same period last year.

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