WhatsApp’s Video Calling Feature a Hit in India, But For How Long?

The messaging platform has made it big with the video calling feature in the country. But can it stay at the top?

WhatsApp video calling has found a lot of takers in India. (Photo: The Quint)

WhatsApp’s video calling service started its journey from India last year and the feature has since scored big with users in the country and abroad. After its global rollout, over 1.2 billion devices across platforms now use the feature.

The Facebook-owned platform has reported over 50 million video calling minutes per day from India, making us the top-grossing market for the company for its latest feature.

With over 200 million active users on WhatsApp and free internet courtesy Reliance Jio, it seems people have warmed up to video calling over the past year, propelling WhatsApp to reach this position. But with Jio 4G no longer free, what does the future hold for WhatsApp’s video calling service?

Also Read: Why WhatsApp’s Global Launch of Video Calling in India Is Big

(Photo: The Quint)

What Works for WhatsApp Video Calling

The fact that it is simple and works across platforms – on 2G, 3G, 4G and WiFi – is the secret sauce for the popularity of this app.

Prices of data coming down has definitely played a big role in users opting for video calling (together with the often poor voice connectivity network).

But here’s the thing: Jio 4G is no longer free, and currently Jio has over 72 million users on its network.

It’ll be interesting to see if the pattern continues, which could only mean more moolah for Facebook from the country.

Standing Tall

When you compare this with global numbers for WhatsApp video calling, it is apparent that the importance of India for the messaging firm has increased tremendously. And the explosion of demand for 4G devices in the country will only further fuel this demand.

Users make over 55 million video calls per day globally. WhatsApp has registered 340 million minutes of video calling per day, which is insanely high for a platform that was introduced after Microsoft’s Skype and Google’s Duo app.

But clearly, people who were already hooked to the messaging service were comfortable using the same app for video calling as well. Clearly, WhatsApp has benefited from its multi-dimensional use case features. But how long can it hold on to the pole position?