CASE STUDY WHATSAPP Birth Jan Koum and Brian Acton founded WhatsApp in 2009; they immediately realised it was a great alternative to pricey SMS services, especially for images. WhatsApp is currently owned by Facebook, which bought it in 2014 for 19 billion dollars; at the time, WhatsApp had more than 400 million users, now it has more than one billion users worldwide. Since August 2009, WhatsApp has played a key role in the fast development and expansion of human communication, and today Mobile instant messaging (MIM) applications are assumed as an essential component of everyday life. A social network Differently from the Short Message Service (SMS) — now over 20 years old — WhatsApp allows its users to send and receive not only text, but also to share real-time locations through Google Maps, images, voice recordings, documents, and videos. These opportunities are available both in one-on-one interactions or within groups of up to 250 people and represent a unique combination of mass and interpersonal communication channels. This is why WhatsApp is today considered a social network. Characteristics It’s user-friendly. End-to-end encryption means that conversations are secure. It is cost- and ads-free, available for smartphones with any operating system and also has a web version. It is possible to star important messages and create stories which will automatically disappear after 24 hours. Some operating systems allow users to use WhatsApp hands-free. It is possible to send a message to multiple contacts at once. It is possible to unsend messages. It is possible to see when the contact was last online and if a message has been received and viewed by checking its delivery status. 8. Read the text carefully and choose the correct option. In 2009 WhatsApp was… a. bought by Facebook. b. made available. c. invented by SMS. Google Maps lets you… a. locate a specific place. b. find out something. c. be informed about the latest news. WhatsApp is… a. a peer-to-peer communication system. b. a mass communication channel. c. both a and b. Thanks to end-to-end encryption technology, conversations on WhatsApp are… a. fast. b. starred. c. private. WhatsApp… a. requires an annual subscription. b. is free thanks to ads. c. is without costs. With some smartphones, it is possible to use WhatsApp… a. without hands. b. without speaking. c. without moving. Checking the delivery status means knowing… a. when the contact was last online. b. whether the message has been seen. c. if the message has been starred. When you send a wrong message, you can… a. send it again. b. delete it. c. view it.