Facebook To Buy WhatsApp

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Posted by Soulskill on Wednesday February 19, 2014 @10:33AM from the hitting-the-startup-lottery dept.

Facebook has announced an agreement to buy WhatsApp, the mobile messaging platform used by over 450 million people. The deal involves $4 billion in cash and an additional $12 billion in Facebook stock. They say WhatsApp will remain independent; its headquarters won't move, and it will continue to exist separately from Facebook's Messenger app. Mark Zuckerberg indicated they will focus on growth: 'Over the next few years, we're going to work hard to help WhatsApp grow and connect the whole world. We also expect that WhatsApp will add to our efforts for Internet.org, our partnership to make basic internet services affordable for everyone.' On WhatsApp's blog, they say, "Here’s what will change for you, our users: nothing. WhatsApp will remain autonomous and operate independently."

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Oh Good by The+Cat · 2014-02-19 10:38 · Score: 5, Insightful

We also expect that WhatsApp will add to our efforts for Internet.org, our partnership to make basic internet services affordable for everyone
Yet another attempt to control the Internet.
They're coming. And they will not stop until they own it or destroy it.
The Internet is humanity's last chance, boys and girls. We lose it and we're looking at 1000 years of darkness.
1. Re:Oh Good by ozmanjusri · 2014-02-19 14:58 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  The Internet is humanity's last chance, boys and girls.
  Yep, Skype's gone, and now WhatsApp will be ruined.
  Are there any open and demonstrably secure voice/video chat/IM etc applications in the pipeline that anyone's aware of?
  
  --
  "I've got more toys than Teruhisa Kitahara."
Re:Bubble bursting in 3, 2, 1 ..... by QuasiSteve · 2014-02-19 10:50 · Score: 4, Insightful

No, $16B ($4B, really, who's counting fb stock?) for:

the mobile messaging platform used by over 450 million people
( plus underlying tech, as simple as it is )
And this promise that nothing's going to change? Laughable. If nothing else it will receive facebook branding (subtle, such as color changes) pretty quickly, and the only reason to build it out further is so that they can reap even further benefits (read: more users) over to facebook at a later point.
Like ping ball games by future+assassin · 2014-02-19 10:52 · Score: 4, Insightful

Remember where the scores on pinball machines were sane then one day I saw the ST TNG pinball and the score was like in the millions. Was like WTF? The pricing on some of these virtual companies is the same.

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by TheSpoom (715771) Uncaring Linux user here. I have nothing to add to this but please continue. *munches popcorn*
And if they make me have a Facebook account... by mfearby · 2014-02-19 10:55 · Score: 5, Insightful

... UNINSTALL! I refuse to have a Facebook account and if Whatsapp starts making it mandatory to have one, then I'll go back to plain old SMS.
1. Re:And if they make me have a Facebook account... by Cid+Highwind · 2014-02-19 12:00 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  Too late, you already have a Facebook account, everyone on the internet does.
  You just don't know the password yet.
  
  --
  0 1 - just my two bits
Messaging? by DogDude · 2014-02-19 11:09 · Score: 5, Insightful

I read the web site, and I still don't understand what this web site is all about. Is it really just yet another messaging platform designed to get around SMS messaging charges? Am I missing something obvious?

1. There are tons and tons of ways to send messages to people last I checked. Why is this one worth "$16B"?

2. Who still pays for SMS messages? I've had unlimited texting plans for the better part of a decade, and they're cheaper than most people's cable TV bills. Are text messages significantly expensive outside of the US?

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I don't respond to AC's.
1. Re:Messaging? by grantek · 2014-02-19 11:29 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  It's Jabber, but without the hassle of account creation. Username is automatically set up as your phone number, and password is your IMEI or something.
  So it's about as secure as SMS, but also as practical for technophobes. It's free of charge and allows much more data than SMS (file transfer of pics etc.), which is why people use it.
2. Re:Messaging? by mwissel · 2014-02-19 11:32 · Score: 5, Informative
  
  No, it's more than yet another SMS replacement.
  It can do cross-mobile-platform IM, group chats, file sharing (video and audio mostly) and as of recent push to talk communication. Also, the phone number is your user account - everyone of your phone contacts will show up in your WA contact list if they use it. Many agree it is the tidies and simplest messenger for mobile platforms around.
  On the downside there is their shitty data protection and blatant security faults in the past. On Android, you can't switch off presence and reading confirmations which is quite unfortunate if your boss or knows your phone number - they will always be able to check when you were last on.
  As much as I'd love to dispose WhatsApp, I have given up any attempt to do so. Once you registered, you can't unregister (or rather, the function does nothing) and people will continue to send you things. I resigned and tell everyone to not send any sensible information over this service and I use a modded Android app (WhatsApp+ ... you can find the project page on Google+) which allows me to hide my online status.
Re:sixteen billion??? by gordo3000 · 2014-02-19 11:11 · Score: 4, Insightful

nah, seems more like they are throwing cash at every company that mimics in a superior manner any piece of fb people used to use. Chat and images are the big two,
the problem is, any new company can come along and start the same service, at which point fb will have to buy them as well. this was the story with instagram, they then tried to buy snapchat, and now bought whatsapp.
Does your carrier charge you for txt? Lolz by Phil+Urich · 2014-02-19 11:26 · Score: 4, Insightful

You've never heard of it? Are you still using your carrier's txt plan? Lolz
Why wouldn't I? I can text anyone anywhere in the world for free, and I don't have to worry about whether we're using the same service and if they actually still check that service or blah blah blah. And services like WhatsApp are tied to phone numbers anyways, so WhatsApp users are just a subset of people with numbers I could text to.

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I remember sigs. Oh, a simpler time!
That is ridiculous by vikingpower · 2014-02-19 17:54 · Score: 5, Interesting

$19,000,000,000 for an app that does not make money and has 32 employees. IMHO it shows that Facebook is slowly panicking.

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Religous speak to God. Insane are spoken to by God. When all shut up, one can finally hear Shostakovich in peace
Re:Bubble bursting in 3, 2, 1 ..... by michelcolman · 2014-02-19 21:47 · Score: 4, Interesting

So this is how you make big bucks on the internet nowadays:
1. Launch a service that does something people really want without any of the annoyances of other similar services (ads, privacy intrusions,...) and without trying to make much money. Maybe even lose money, who cares.
2. Get lots of users who appreciate the fact that somebody is finally catering to their needs without constantly trying to milk them for information or bombard them with ads.
3. Sell to some big company like FaceBook for billions of dollars, which then proceeds to add the usual annoyances like ads and privacy intrusions after having promised not to do so.
4. Goto 1.
Rude awakening, you say? I bet they're just yelling "Profit!"