WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger Process 60 Billion Messages Daily, as “Save” Feature Adoption Hits 250 Million

There are two monumental announcements from Facebook that recently grabbed headlines alongside the unveiling of the Chatbots. Firstly, their messaging services, WhatsApp and Messenger, now process an unprecedented 60 billion messages daily. Secondly, their ‘Save’ feature, which allows users to conveniently store links and videos for later viewings, now boasts a user base of 250 million.

WhatsApp, the dominant global messaging application, has proudly reached an impressive tally of one billion users. Meanwhile, Facebook Messenger, its runner-up sibling product, is significantly closing the usage gap, with about 900 million users already utilizing the service. Combining both platforms, Facebook’s messaging ecosystem now serves nearly 2 billion individuals around the world.

Facebook’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg made these significant announcements during the F8 developers conference. These two apps are processing three times the daily messaging volume of traditional SMS. To put this into perspective, the combined total of WhatsApp and Messenger messages comes up to 60 billion per day, a far cry from the 20 billion SMS processed globally within the same timeframe.

This growing trend is forecasted to amplify further as Facebook’s Chatbot services come to the fore. The Chatbots feature has stirred up concerns among traditional telecom operators, who are now pivoting to sell more mobile data to users as SMS usage declines. In response to this tectonic shift, regulatory bodies are also getting involved; notably, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) reportedly sought public input on regulating over-the-top services, a category WhatsApp falls under.

On the other hand, one of Facebook’s lesser-known features, the ‘Save’ button, has quietly recorded considerable growth. Despite its inconspicuous existence, tucked away under the ‘More’ button, it has seen an impressive uptake, with 250 million people now utilizing it. Its basic premise involves allowing users to save a link or video for perusal at their leisure.

As the user base of the ‘Save’ feature swells, Facebook wants to make it even more accessible, so that various publishers can add the ‘Save’ button to their articles. In doing so, they hope to make this feature more attractive, particularly to those keen on devouring articles from specific publishers on Facebook. As publishers integrate the ‘Save’ button, users will find it significantly easier to store and retrieve content that matters most to them.