'Brazil is the Country of WhatsApp,' Says President of the App

Although it is third in the number of users, the nation is the champion in text and audio messages; executive denies ads in the inbox

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Patrícia Campos Mello
São Paulo

Brazil is the country of WhatsApp. Although it is not the nation with the largest number of users of the app—trailing behind India and Indonesia—it is the country that sends the most audio messages in the world, four times more than any other, and sends the largest quantity of text messages and disappearing conversations. "Brazil, because of the intensity of WhatsApp usage, is crucial [for Meta]," said Will Cathcart, president of WhatsApp, to Folha.

Will Cathcart, Head of WhatsApp at Meta - Divulgação

According to the executive, the app will remain free, without ads in its inbox, and focuses on messaging services for businesses as one of the main revenue generators—the area already generates $10 billion in annual revenue across WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and Instagram. Cathcart states that he will maintain the partnership with the Superior Electoral Court and will improve mechanisms to detect mass message sending to prevent misuse of the app in the upcoming Brazilian municipal elections next year.

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