More than a messaging app.

Source: AppAnnie

According to AppAnnie, Whatsapp is the most rated app in Nigeria on the Apple store, falling second place on the Google Play Store.

A̶t̶ ̶a̶ ̶p̶o̶p̶u̶l̶a̶t̶i̶o̶n̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶9̶8̶ ̶m̶i̶l̶l̶i̶o̶n̶ ̶u̶s̶e̶r̶s̶, the internet of Nigeria is largely mobile, with instant messaging and social networking accounting for a huge amount of time spent online. Despite the abundance of fancy features on mainstream social media platforms, instant messaging is a big deal globally. Nigeria is no exception.

Whatsapp specifically thrives in Nigeria for obvious reasons;

The low barrier to entry: For a country that sits high on the poverty index, a phone number, smartphone and few megabytes of data opens up a window to the internet. Some smartphones come with Whatsapp pre-installed, this alone counts for its huge adoption rate in Nigeria.

Audience Familiarity: Although, now commonplace for messaging apps, automatically syncing with your phone address book instantly makes Whatsapp an enabler of conversations with familiar people. You simply just pick up from where you left off. No introductions needed.

Its lack of sophistication: Undoubtedly a welcome platform for people with varying knowledge of technology, age range and socio-economic status.

Abdul, my friend’s gateman, who barely speaks English sends Whatsapp voice notes to his contacts. I happened on this while conducting research for a solar project in 2017. We discovered voice messaging was a widely used feature on Whatsapp among users with low literacy level and huge language barrier like Abdul.

Source: Shutterstock || I imagine Abdul sends voice notes to his girlfriend.

My dad was the first to test Whatsapp’s video calling feature with me when it launched in 2016.

Whatsapp Number

“Is this your Whatsapp number?” a common question asked in informal settings when exchanging numbers with a potential customer, old friend or acquittance in Nigeria. Having the app somehow supersedes having a phone number.

#Whatsappdown

The time was 10:41pm when my phone rang. Still wide awake chatting away on Telegram through the desktop app, I reluctantly reached for my phone wondering who the caller might be.

It was my dad. He had tried chatting with me on Whatsapp but couldn’t figure what was wrong with the app. Checking through phone notifications after the call, I ended up on Twitter. My dad was right, #Whatsappdown was trending.

To many many Nigerians, Whatsapp is the Internet, so with the app’s brief downtime in 2017 came some panic — What happened to the Internet?

A failed attempt to forward a BC, inability to chat with group members or an abrupt crash of your app amid a family discussion was enough reason to think you’ve been yanked off the internet. The hashtag was a globally discussed topic but its impact was more pronounced on this side of the world. A reflection of how deeply woven Whatsapp is into the Nigerian social fabric.