WhatsApp is now used daily by one in every seven people worldwide. This was announced during Facebook's (its parent company's) quarterly earnings results this week.
Early last year, the company announced it had one billion monthly active users; it now has 1.3 billion monthly users of the service. And every day, 55 billion messages, 4.5 billion photos, and one billion videos are shard on the platform.
In February, the app added a feature, called Status, which allows users to update their status with pictures and videos that disappear after 24 hours. An original Snapchat feature, it has since been integrated across all Facebook mobile products, including Instagram, Messenger, and Facebook itself.
Status has grown from zero to 250 million users in six months. By comparison, Snapchat has fewer than 200 million users of its app, and Instagram has just over 250 million users of its Stories feature.
"Whether it's sharing personalised photos and videos, connecting through video calling, or keeping friends updated throughout the day with Status, communicating on WhatsApp has never been easier or more personal. We are humbled that so many people are using these new features to connect with one another in their own special way," WhatsApp said in a statement.
The eight-year-old company was acquired by social media giant Facebook for $19.2 billion in 2014.
Since acquisition, WhatsApp has dropped its $1-a-year subscription fee, added end-to-end encryption on all its messages, voice and video VOIP calling, and a desktop version.
This, while keeping the service advert-free, echoing the philosophy of WhatsApp co-founder Brian Acton, who famously wrote on a Post-it note next to his desk: "No ads! No games! No gimmicks!"
WhatsApp also has support for 60 languages.
Facebook's other standalone messaging app, Messenger, which has over 1.2 billion users, now has two billion messages sent over the platform between businesses and individuals each month.
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