WhatsApp Hits 2 Billion Users, Defends Encryption Features

    

Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg
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WhatsApp now has 2 billion users -- 500 million more than it had just two years ago.

The messaging service announced the latest tally Wednesday, about six years after Facebook Inc. acquired the app for $19 billion. WhatsApp is the largest messaging platform in the world, though it makes virtually no money and recently set aside plans to introduce ads.