In the last 24 hours I have written more than 100 WhatsApp messages. None of them were very common. I have planned various things with my family. Talked with colleagues about many projects. Exchanged news and chatted with some friends.

Ways to earn using WhatsApp

Here WhatsApp was automatically protecting the privacy of even my most annoying messages using powerful computer servers in data centers around the world. This process is not cheap enough for any company to maintain. In this case, neither I nor the people I was talking to spent money to use WhatsApp. Around 3 billion people around the world are currently using WhatsApp.

So how does WhatsApp make money?

Of course WhatsApp has a huge company like Meta behind it. WhatsApp's parent company Meta also owns popular apps Facebook and Instagram. Meta allows people with personal accounts like me to use WhatsApp for free. Basically, WhatsApp earns money from corporate companies. They want to interact with users like me to promote their products or services.

Companies have been able to create WhatsApp channels for free since last year. Channels send messages to those who subscribe to the channel. Subscribers can read them. But if you buy the premium version of WhatsApp, you can chat with customers directly through the app. It can be a simple conversation about something or a financial transaction.

This feature is still in its infancy in many parts of the world. But, for example, in Bangalore, India, bus tickets can be bought and seats can be selected through WhatsApp. Nikila Srinivasan, Meta's vice president of business messaging, said, "Our goal is to make sure that businesses and consumers can do everything right in chat threads."

He explained, 'This means, if you want to buy a ticket or if you want to make a refund, you can do it without leaving the chat thread and continue your other conversations….'

Businesses can pay WhatsApp for a link. In that case, if a Facebook or Instagram user enters those links as advertisements, a new chat is opened in his personal WhatsApp account.

Srinivasan said, only this one feature generates billions of dollars in revenue. Mater Nikila Srinivasan said the main aim of the business is to increase communication with customers through WhatsApp. But other messaging apps follow a different path.

Another well-known platform for message security is the 'Signal' app. It is a non-profit organization. They say they never take money from investors. Instead, Signal operates through grants. In 2018, Signal received a $50 million cash donation from WhatsApp co-founder Brian Acton.

In a blog post last year, Signal President Meredith Whittaker wrote, "We need to get as close to small donors as possible to get their support." This is our goal. He said Signal depends on donors who care about Signal.

Taskforce sees the egg price list turned upside down Taskforce sees the egg price list turned upside down
Discord is a popular app among young gamers. It's free to sign up and use, but you have to pay to use certain features. The Discord app also has a paid membership called Nitro. It lets you watch good quality videos and use custom emojis. But it will cost 9.99 dollars per month.

Snapchat also has different models. The app features ads and had 11 million paid subscribers as of August this year. Apart from this, they also sell augmented reality glasses called 'Snapchat Spectacle'.

According to Forbes website, it has another way of earning. Between 2016 and 2023, they earned $300 million from interest alone. But Snap's main source of revenue is advertising, which generates more than $4 billion a year.

UK-based company Element also provides secure messaging services to governments and large organizations. Their customers use their technology and control it themselves on their own private servers. This company started 10 years ago. But in the meantime, the company has started to see the face of profit. said Matthew Hodgson, co-founder of Element.

'Basically, many messaging platforms monitor what people are doing, what kinds of things they're saying, then they target users and show them tailored ads.'

Messaging apps do have encryption and privacy features. But apps still know a lot about users. So they don't need to see the original content. Therefore, they may use users' information to sell advertisements.

Why did Microsoft suspend the new update of Windows?

advertisement
'It's the same old story. If you're a free user, you're just the product here,' says Hodson.