WhatsApp is rolling out usernames, letting users chat without sharing their phone number. Instead of giving someone your phone number, you can share a unique username. This makes it easier to keep your phone number private when talking to new people. The feature is rolling out in stages, so not everyone will get it at the same time. - You can create a unique username for your account. - People will need your exact username to message you. - There will be no public list of usernames to search. - Your phone number will still be used to create, verify, and recover your account. - Some usernames have been reserved to prevent impersonation of well-known people and brands.

WhatsApp may be the statistically best app we've ever made. It's a product manager's dream with its unparalleled addictiveness (DAU / MAU) of 87% and stickiness (M1 retention) of 86%, both #1# in the world while having the #1# most monthly active users for any non preinstalled app of 2.7B users. Here are the top 25 most used apps in the world by MAU on both these metrics. Some surprising observations: — There are now 15 1B+ user apps in the world, 8 by Google, 4 by Meta. — The 3 that aren't are TikTok, Telegram (!) and ChatGPT — Telegram has more users than Spotify, Pinterest, Netflix, Amazon, Snap! — ChatGPT's one month retention is #5# after WA, Instagram, Chrome and Youtube. 2yrs ago, it was been #20# by M1 retention — Shopee, a shopping app in southeast Asia, is huge and retains users better than Amazon! Useful way to break down consumer businesses especially within certain categories (X vs Reddit vs Threads is a good one). It's shocking how few new apps have been able to break through in the past 10yrs.

WhatsApp for Windows uses more memory than many expect. A recent report found that the app can consume over 1.2 GB of RAM after opening and switching between chats. The issue began after Meta replaced the older native Windows app with a WebView2-based version, While this simplifies development, it also makes the app heavier and less efficient. Users have complained about slower performance, delayed notifications, and the app continuing to run in the background even after closing the window. he old native version used much less memory and performed better.

WhatsApp encryption is a giant fraud. The state of Texas just sued WhatsApp for lying to users about privacy — because WhatsApp employees have access to “virtually all” private messages. Now we know what WhatsApp’s founder meant when he said he “sold his users’ privacy.”

WhatsApp’s “encryption” may be the biggest consumer fraud in history — deceiving billions of users. Despite its claims, it reads users’ messages and shares them with third parties. Telegram has never done this — and never will 🤝