In a recent report, it has been identified that Indians make over 50 million minutes of video calls daily through WhatsApp. This number is highest when compared to other users in any other part of the globe. WhatsApp started offering the Video Call facility to its users in November last year and now, it has become the preferred platform for the Indian users to make video calls. The Facebook-backed app competes against the likes of Hike, Allo, and Viber in India.
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With the new Video Calling feature, the app has now become a new competitor to Microsoft’s Skype, Apple’s FaceTime and Google Duo. One of the key factors for the increased usage of video calling in India is the decreased data prices and free promotional data offered by Reliance Jio.
According to data shared by WhatsApp, India is the leading country for video calling minutes with over 50 million video calling minutes per day. There are 55 million video calls per day globally and user spends more than 340 million minutes per day on these calls.
India has a user base of 200 million monthly active users for WhatsApp, which has almost over a billion users globally. The company is also working on solutions to enable businesses to use its platform in India to connect better with the consumers and the new feature plays a crucial role for the product.
Though the company has confirmed that it will not introduce third party advertisements on its platform but, it is in a phase of testing that allows users to communicate with businesses and organizations like banks and airlines through its platform.
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WhatsApp is also working on to improve the engagement on the platform and recently introduced story feature just like on Facebook and Instagram to allow users to express their thoughts using pictures and animations.
WhatsApp is also testing digital payment services in India and looking to enter the new segment. To further back this feature, the company is looking to hire a digital transaction head for the country. WhatsApp co-founder, Brian acton also had a meeting with IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad to discuss ways in which WhatsApp could contribute to INdia’s vision for digital commerce.
Let’s see when we see new features on the widely adopted platform in India.
