While WhatsApp’s global users use the phone and text messaging platform to send a staggering amount of messages around the world, the app has never really taken off in the U.S. Experts believe it has to do with a mix of factors, including the (low) cost of sending short message service (SMS), communication habits, and the evolution of the iPhone and its encryption needs.
Why Americans Don't Use WhatsApp
Facebook, which bought WhatsApp in 2014, said the app now sends about 100 billion messages a day in its Oct. 29 quarterly earnings report. Even though WhatsApp now has 2 billion monthly users, only about 20% of U.S. adults said they use WhatsApp in a 2019 Pew Research Center survey. By comparison, 69% said they use Facebook and 73% say they use YouTube.
“So it's a combination of marketing, interface design and user needs that have made this much more popular worldwide,” S. Shyam Sundar, a professor of communication at Penn State University, told Lifewire in an email.
According to Sundar, WhatsApp “has not communicated its unique value proposition” to US customers who already use other messaging services.
