Last night, millions of WhatsApp users around the world were unable to send or receive messages after the application suffered an outage.
Normal service has since resumed but the incident served as an example of how dependent we are becoming on mobile message applications and WhatsApp in particular. Twitter was awash with people complaining messages weren’t going through.
Ever since the advent of smartphones and 3G networks, mobile messaging has shifted from the humble SMS to services like BlackBerry Messenger (BBM), WhatsApp, Skype, Facebook and now Snapchat.
Whereas we used to be limited by a certain number of characters and plain text, we can now send pictures, videos and, gasp, emojis, to people around the world – at no additional cost. This means more of us are sharing more of our lives to more people.
But what do you know about the history of mobile messaging?
Google parent Alphabet sees market capitalisation surge over $2tn on plan to over first-ever cash…
Google asks Virginia federal court to dismiss case brought by US Justice Department and eight…
Snapchat parent Snap reports user growth, revenues in spite of tough competition, in what may…
Intel shares sag after company shares gloomy revenue predictions, as data centre chip demand hit…
Germany's Tuta Mail says Google broke EU's new DMA rules with March algorithm update that…
US auto safety regulator opens new investigation into adequacy of Tesla Autopilot recall, saying it…