WhatsApp head Chris Daniels quit Facebook over disagreements with Mark Zuckerberg: Report

Two top Facebook executives - Chris Cox and Chris Daniels - are leaving the company. Chris Cox, Facebook's long-time product chief, had joined Facebook in 2005. Chris Daniels, who had joined Facebook in 2011, is bidding adieu in less than a year since he was promoted to Head of WhatsApp after WhatsApp's co-founder and then CEO Jan Koum stepped down from his position.

Now, a new report leads us to some shocking revelations that not everything was going great between Chris Daniels and Mark Zuckerberg. Cheddar report citing an undisclosed WhatsApp employee says that Daniels decided to quit Facebook over disagreements with Zuckerberg’s strategy to unify WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook Messenger.

“Chris Daniels was a great leader for us, and because of that, clashed with Mark. I buy that they both (Daniels and Cox) were able to choose to leave, but this is Mark's company through and through,” an undisclosed WhatsApp employee reportedly told Cheddar.

Daniels and Zuckerberg reportedly disagreed on a number of issues right from unifying WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook Messenger to other Facebook apps not supporting end-to-end encryption, unlike WhatsApp.

Facebook did not respond to Cheddar's story.

READ | Two top Facebook executives depart the company

Daniels was promoted to vice president of WhatsApp last year after WhatsApp co-founders Jan Koum and Brian Acton departed over differences on how to monetise WhatsApp, which Mark Zuckerberg-led Facebook bought in 2014.

Meanwhile, Mark Zuckerberg praised Daniels while announcing his departure in an official note and said that he enjoyed working with Daniels.

"Chris has done great work in many roles, including running our business development team, leading Internet.org, which has helped more than 100 million people get access to the internet, and most recently at WhatsApp, where he has helped define the business model for our messaging services going forward.

Mark Zuckerberg further added:

"Chris is one of the clearest and most principled business thinkers I’ve met and the diversity of challenges he has helped us navigate is impressive. I’ve really enjoyed working with Chris and I’m sure he will do great work at whatever he chooses to take on next."

READ | Facebook loses Chris Cox, the company's long-time product chief

Prior to joining Facebook in 2011, Daniels served at Microsoft for more than five years. Daniels has played many different roles at Facebook. Before moving to WhatsApp last year, headed Facebook's Internet.org and business development team.

Recently, BuzzFeed News reported that Cox left Facebook over “a disagreement over the company’s product direction.” Facebook has a long history when it comes to top executives leaving the company just like that. After the departure of WhatsApp co-founders last year, Instagram co-founders Kevin York Systrom and Mike Krieger also quit Facebook.