article_snippet: However this only works between WhatsApp users and WhatsApp relies on an internet connection.
article_snippet: last year, WhatsApp updated WhatsApp service to make it harder to avoid messages.
article_snippet: WhatsApp has overtaken traditional mobile phone texts for the first time as users send 30 billion messages every day.
article_snippet: The Facebook-owned app allows people to send instant messages and photographs via the internet rather without incurring charges from the internet network provider.
article_snippet: Its growing popularity saw people send 30 billion WhatsApp messages a day last year, compared to 20 billion SMS text messages, according to research by The Economist.
article_snippet: WhatsApp has overtaken traditional mobile phone texts for the first time as users send 30 billion messages every day.
article_snippet: Messaging apps have exploded in popularity over the last few years thanks to the growth of smartphones and 3G and 4G allowing fast internet connection.
article_snippet: Research company Ovum found that the decline in the use of traditional text messages in favour of messaging apps was estimated to cost mobile network providers $54 billion by 2016.
article_snippet: WhatsApp has more than 450 million monthly users and claims WhatsApp is currently registering one million new users a day.