Whatsapp’s Biggest Market Is Becoming Its Toughest Test

WhatsApp, Meta’s messaging app that millions of Indians trust connected daily, is facing a captious infinitesimal successful India arsenic caller authorities directions frighten to disrupt really nan level useful for mundane users and businesses.

Issued precocious past period and made public earlier this month, nan directions inquire definite app-based connection services to support accounts continuously linked to an progressive SIM paper and enforce stricter controls connected really nan apps usability crossed devices.

New Delhi says nan measures are aimed astatine curbing rising cyber fraud successful India, nan world’s astir populous nation. Digital defense groups, argumentation experts, and manufacture groups representing awesome integer platforms — including Meta — person warned, however, that nan attack risks regulatory overreach and could disrupt morganatic use, particularly successful a state wherever WhatsApp has evolved into mundane infrastructure for individual connection and small-business commerce.

The directions, which app providers including Meta, Telegram, and Signal must comply pinch wrong 90 days of their issuance connected November 28, require messaging apps to stay tied to nan SIM paper utilized astatine sign-up. The web and desktop versions of these apps besides require users to log retired each six hours and re-link their devices via a QR codification to regain access.

“Mandatory continuous SIM–device binding and periodic logout guarantee that each progressive relationship and web convention is anchored to a live, KYC-verified SIM, restoring traceability of numbers utilized successful phishing, investment, integer arrest, and indebtedness scams,” nan telecom ministry said successful a property merchandise earlier this month, adding that India suffered cyber-fraud losses exceeding ₹228 cardinal (about $2.5 billion) successful 2024 alone.

The Indian authorities has clarified that nan rules do not use erstwhile nan SIM remains successful nan device, and nan personification is roaming.

While nan directions use broadly to awesome instant messaging apps, their effect is apt to beryllium felt astir acutely by WhatsApp, which is used by much than 500 cardinal people successful India. The app’s take successful India is besides unusually deep. As overmuch arsenic 94% of WhatsApp’s Indian monthly personification guidelines opened nan app regular successful November, while 67% of WhatsApp Business users successful nan state did nan same, according to Sensor Tower information shared pinch TechCrunch. By comparison, 59% of WhatsApp monthly users successful nan U.S. opened nan app daily, alongside 57% for WhatsApp Business.

Many merchants successful India trust connected nan WhatsApp Business app — a smartphone-based type of nan work tailored for mini enterprises — typically registering nan relationship connected a SIM-linked telephone while handling customer conversations done WhatsApp’s web aliases desktop customer connected different device. Unlike larger companies that usage WhatsApp’s Business APIs for automated, CRM-linked communication, these mini businesses entree their customers done WhatsApp Business and its companion web interface, meaning mandatory SIM binding and predominant forced logouts could break workflows for order-taking, support, and customer engagement.

The imaginable disruption successful India comes arsenic WhatsApp has been steadily expanding its multi-device and companion-device capabilities, allowing users and businesses to enactment logged successful crossed phones, browsers, and devices without relying connected a azygous progressive smartphone.

Rapid description to heavy entrenchment

The directions travel arsenic WhatsApp is undergoing a important displacement successful India, its biggest market, pinch maturation progressively driven by retaining existing users alternatively than quickly expanding its caller personification base.

WhatsApp’s monthly progressive users successful India connected mobile devices are up 6% year-over-year successful nan 4th fourth to date, moreover arsenic downloads person fallen astir 49%, per Sensor Tower information shared pinch TechCrunch. Compared pinch precocious 2022, WhatsApp’s monthly progressive users successful India are up 24%, while downloads are down 14% complete nan aforesaid period, nan marketplace intelligence patient said.

“It could beryllium adjacent to opportunity that personification (MAU) maturation for WhatsApp successful India crossed nan past fewer years has been driven much by retention (successfully re-engaging existing aliases erstwhile users) than acquiring caller users,” said Abraham Yousef, elder insights expert astatine Sensor Tower.

Data from Appfigures shows WhatsApp Business has consistently recorded much estimated first-time installs than WhatsApp Messenger successful India since early 2024, reflecting really maturation has progressively been driven by merchant take alternatively than broad-based user description .

Image Credits:Jagmeet Singh / TechCrunch

Part of that shape reflects really WhatsApp is utilized successful India, said Randy Nelson, caput of insights astatine Appfigures. It is communal for merchants to support abstracted WhatsApp identities for individual and customer communication, often enabled by dual-SIM phones, while a azygous business tin make aggregate installs crossed unit and shop devices.

Sensor Tower information points successful nan aforesaid direction. WhatsApp Business monthly progressive users successful India were still increasing twelvemonth complete twelvemonth successful precocious 2025 and are up much than 130% compared pinch 2021, acold outpacing WhatsApp Messenger’s astir 34% maturation complete nan aforesaid period, nan marketplace intelligence firm’s information estimates.

While wide engagement remains higher connected WhatsApp — pinch Indian users opening nan app regular and spending an mean of 38 minutes a time successful November, compared pinch 27 minutes connected WhatsApp Business — nan spread looks different successful nan U.S., wherever users spent astir 23 minutes a time connected WhatsApp and 27 minutes connected WhatsApp Business, Sensor Tower estimates show.

India’s directions raise “serious questions of method feasibility”

In a connection past week, manufacture assemblage Broadband India Forum (BIF), whose members see Meta, said nan measures could consequence successful “material inconvenience and work disruption connected mean users,” adding that they raise “serious questions of method feasibility.”

The directions hinge connected a caller and still-contested classification of Telecommunication Identifier User Entities (TIUEs) nether India’s telecom cybersecurity rules, said Kazim Rizvi, founding head of New Delhi-based nationalist argumentation deliberation vessel The Dialogue, efficaciously placing messaging apps wrong a telecom model — a displacement from their accepted regularisation nether nan country’s IT Act — done executive directions alternatively than general legislation.

“The directions deduce their powerfulness not from statute but from delegated legislation,” Rizvi told TechCrunch. “Moreover, nan deficiency of nationalist consultations aliases method moving groups risks creating compliance clash without addressing nan underlying fraud vectors.”

India’s telecom ministry did not respond to a petition for comments.

For now, companies including Meta person constricted room to situation nan directions successful court, according to tech argumentation experts.

Challenging nan directions would typically require showing either that they transcend nan scope of nan underlying rule aliases that they break law protections, said Dhruv Garg, a tech argumentation advisor and partner astatine nan Indian Governance and Policy Project — a precocious barroom that whitethorn beryllium difficult to meet successful this case.

Meta declined to remark connected this article.