WhatsApp's popularity in the intense cross-platform messaging space is growing by the day. The company just crossed another milestone with over one billion Android installs to date.
Google Play listing for WhatsApp show it has downloaded more than one billion times. The change was spotted by Appbrain almost a week ago and comes on the heels of the company rolling out voice-calling feature to its users. Users are longing to try out the free-calling feature, but access has been limited by invite-only method.
Although the exact number of downloads remains unknown, it is certainly a huge achievement for WhatsApp, which competes against the likes of Line, Viber, BBM and other IMs. The number of downloads does not equate to the monthly active users, which according to the company's statistics stood at 700 million as of January this year. The number of downloads keeps increasing even when the same user deletes and re-installs the app from Play Store, making it irrelevant to count the number of users actively using the app.
But the new milestone brings users' attention to WhatsApp's voice-calling feature. According to a recent report from Android Police, the messaging company has reportedly made the feature available to all of its Android users. But there is a hurdle in users' way that is holding off a large chunk of users from activating the feature.
According to the publication, WhatsApp version 2.11.561 makes users eligible to have the voice-calling feature. But users must need an invite in the form of a call from another user who has the feature already activated. So if you are eager to try out the new feature, download the latest version of the app or the updated APK and find out if your friends have the feature working.
The importance of this news is that WhatsApp has lifted a limited time window for inviting new users to try out the feature. Previously, the company allowed users to invite others only in for few hours at a time. By allowing unlimited invites, there's no saying how soon you can get the feature on your phone too.
For your laugh, Android Police also put together a funny article about WhatsApp's new milestone. Feel free to share the joy.
