Whatsapp Indian users sent a whopping 14 Billion messages on New Year’s eve creating new record!

It is quite surprising to see that the Whatsapp messages shared have crossed the record of even Diwali Whatsapp messages!

Whatsapp has been growing in popularity and is one of the most used apps all over the world. Billions of messages and responses are sent over Whatsapp on a daily basis. While Whatsapp has replaced many conventional modes of communication like SMS and even emails, it is still not used by everyone all over the wold. Considering a majority of the Indian population still resides in rural pockets and uses feature phones, Whatsapp’s reach in the country is not as wide as it should be. However, the app is slowly progressing and considering Whatsapp relies entirely on word-by-mouth reviews, it’s growth truly is spectacular. However, it’s real reach in the country was understood only during the New Year’s eve when revellers broke all records over Whatsapp messages.

Slowly, people are shifting from the traditional methods of sending SMSes and even calling on New Year’s eve and are instead sticking to just sending a quick message over Whatsapp. The fact is proved by Whatsapp’s 2017 record. On New Year’s eve this year, Indians sent over 14 billion messages over Whatsapp! Of the messages, nearly 32 percent were in the form of media files, be it video, images, gifs or any other media form. Overall, 3.1 billion images were shared, 700 million GIFs were used to wish Happy New Year and 610 million videos were sent and downloaded! That sure is a lot of Whatsapp messages! The messages were sent on 31st, the last day of 2016 and continued onto the New Year’s eve. However, the entire day of 1st January is not taken into account and messages form part of just the eve on 1st January!

It is quite surprising to see that the Whatsapp messages shared have crossed the record of even Diwali Whatsapp messages! Indians sent just 8 billion Whatsapp messages during Diwali and the New Year’s eve count is nearly double in India. One reason it could be is because the festival of Diwali is spread over 5 days and according to different regions in the country, each of the days have their own importance and significance. Therefore, while some people might have sent messages on one day, others might have sent messages on another day. However, it is impressive to see Indians taking up Whatsapp and using it to express their emotions. The messenger app has given a way for people to stay connected despite the distance. New m-Parivahan mobile app by Road Ministry will let users report traffic violations and crashes anonymously through pictures

According to a statement made by Whatsapp: “WhatsApp continues to be an essential part of our lives. Whether it is celebrating festivals and occasions with friends and family or staying connected, WhatsApp is an integral mode of communication for people to connect, transcending miles and distance. WhatsApp has continued to be convenient, fast, reliable and simple to use for everyone, everywhere. As 2016 came to a close, we take a look back to see how more than 160 million monthly active users on WhatsApp in India connected with friends and families, near or far, using the app to celebrate New Year’s Eve.” The 160 billion sure broke all records for Whatsapp this year! Clearly, the trend will continue next year too with smartphone user numbers rising in the country!