News - WhatsApp bought by Facebook for $16 billion

[HEXUS]

Popular instant messenger service promises no changes for end users.

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[azrael-]

Have to raise my pessimistic voice again. In my opinion it's only a matter of time before WhatsApp is "integrated" into the juggernaut that is Facebook. At the very least it'll be an "all your text is belong to us" situation for FB. I don't use WhatsApp (weird, I know) and I certainly don't intend to start now.

[Kovoet]

I do not use Facebook so this is a little bit of a let down for me. Guess I won't be using whatsapp much longer

[KrisWragg]

Never used it so doesn't really bother me, I just send SMS, email or occasionally use Hangouts with people that have android phones...

[OilSheikh]

There goes Whatsapp. It will soon be stripped of all the exciting features and become as bland as FB messenger.
No one has any integrity these days. Wave wads of $$$'s in front of anyone and they can be bought!

[jimbouk]

Who wouldn't be bought for $16 billion. That's billion, no million. That's not retire comfortably money, that's buy an island and live like a king money.

Still I'd move on the shares quickly and get something safer...

[Rob_B]

Can't blame them for selling for that amount, it's not a public service.

If/when it gets integrated into FB then I'll find myself another app, I'm not dumb enough to think WhatsApp provides their service or of the goodness of their hearts but I'll be dammed if I let FB link any more info to me.

[Zeven]

I presume that means WhatsApp will be blocked in China soon. My Chinese friends will have to find new means to stay in contact.

[kingpotnoodle]

I know that the value of these things is not in the app itself or even their infrastructure (both of which are worth a few million at most as they could be easily replicated feature for feature). The value is in any patents (probably not much here), industry relations but most of all the installed user base, 450 million users is bigger than Twitter and halfway to Facebook itself, and 70% active is strong... BUT, and a big but IMHO surely the set (WhatsAppUser && !FacebookUser) is much much smaller than that 450 million figure, probably down below 100 million or much worse - what have Facebook really bought?

Surely then the value is in integrating the messaging stream into the other data and matching with user profiles, Facebook is a data machine and they want to know what you talk about to better target ads. There is zero chance of WhatsApp not being integrated into the monster slowly and quietly... anyone who has entered their mobile number onto their Facebook profile is going to associated in the data mining very quickly.

[AlexKitch]

Money might buy you a user base, but it can't buy innovation.

[Agent]

WhatsApp hardly offered anything special over a large user base.

I'm honestly in awe at how much these apps have made people.

WhatsApp - the ability to send a message to someone else over the net: 16 Billion
Twitter - the ability to send an even shorter message to people over the net: started trading at over 31 Billion
Vine - the ability to post a stupidly small video to people over the net: over 1 Billion, but hard to find any other figures

[Kovoet]

But the good thing about whatsapp as long add you have data usage you can send pics a lot easier

[TheAnimus]

Who wouldn't be bought for $16 billion. That's billion, no million. That's not retire comfortably money, that's buy an island and live like a king money.

Still I'd move on the shares quickly and get something safer...

$4BN in cash. That would let me be a bit risky with my money!

It's very sad. I had a lot of respect for the TOS for WhatsApp, they didn't use advertising, they didn't sell your chat, they just charged me a buck per year. That's what I want.

Sadly, Facebook are the opposite kind of company.

[kingpotnoodle]

But the good thing about whatsapp as long add you have data usage you can send pics a lot easier

But any plans with significant data allowance usually also have vast SMS/MMS allowances also, and there is this bizarre old thing called email that allows attachments... most chat apps have allowed sending files for years.

All WhatsApp and all similar apps have done is to streamline the number of clicks required and contact association process into a focussed app, they don't offer any "new" features as such.

[GeorgeStorm]

I use it every now and again for a group conversation or two, I don't currently pay for it as far as I'm aware.
Can't say I'll really miss it, I actually prefer facebook chat for group things overall (since that's one of the main reasons I use facebook, for events etc)

[shaithis]

$16b.....wow. How did they reach that figure?