Number of Messenger and WhatsApp messages overshadows SMS

Just two apps combined process more messages a day than SMS, and no prizes for guessing which apps they are.

by Helen Leggatt

With 60 billion messages a day sent and received on Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp, combined they now account for more messaging than takes place on SMS (20 billion). Such was the claim of Facebook speaking at its F8 conference a few weeks ago.

More than 900 million people are now using Facebook Messenger Service, as are 50 million businesses. It was the fastest growing app in the US last year, and is now the second most popular app on iOS. Meanwhile, WhatsApp has more than 1 billion monthly users.

Facebook also announced new open APIs for Messenger that will allow the building of bots that will enable businesses to provide customers with a way to order products, or that can deliver personalized news stories. Other uses might be automated traffic updates, weather forecasts or live automated messages.

Consumers will be able to mute and block such communications, as Facebook is sensitive to the potential for spam, and there will be strict policies that developers and businesses alike will need to adhere to.