WhatsApp now faces an identity crisis

Against the backdrop of increasing government oversight and inadequate monetisation plans, WhatsApp is staring at an identity crisis.

And as the company saunters into its 11th year, the dilemma it faces could very well rock the foundation it was built on. More than a decade ago, WhatsApp took India, where SMS was mainstream, by storm. Powered by unlimited real-time exchange of messages, it quickly built a 250 million user base. “It is easy to use. Over the years, it has slowly built a list of features and has seen good adoption,” said Gaurav Mendiratta, CEO, SocioSquares, a digital marketing firm.

But now WhatsApp faces a dilemma: should it say yes/accede to the government’s proposed changes/demands including traceability of messages and compromise on its encryption policy?