WhatsApp running on iOS.
(Credit: Screenshot by Steven Musil/CNET)
Google is in talks to acquire cross-platform messaging application WhatsApp, a new report claims.
Google and WhatsApp have been talking for "four or five weeks," according to Digital Trends, citing a person who claims to have knowledge of the negotiations. So far, WhatsApp has been able to push the acquisition price to nearly $1 billion by "playing hardball," Digital Trends' source says.
WhatsApp is one of the most popular messaging applications available to mobile users. The app allows users on just about any mobile platform, including Android, iOS, BlackBerry, and Windows Phone, to instant-message with each other, as well as send images, audio, and video messages. The messaging app essentially allows for cross-platform texting without having to pay for SMS.
In January, WhatsApp announced that it had set a personal record on New Year's Eve, with 7 billion inbound messages sent that day. Another 11 billion outbound messages were sent. WhatsApp's previous one-day record stood at 10 billion total messages.
Whether WhatsApp is actually worth $1 billion, though, is up for debate. That's the price that Facebook paid for Instagram last year, and some believed the deal didn't land in the social network's favor. WhatsApp, while popular, doesn't have the kind of cache that Instagram did at the time of that acquisition, making such a valuation seem high. And since the Digital Trends story comes from only one source, it's important to take it with a grain of salt at this time.
CNET has contacted both Google and WhatsApp for comment. We will update this story when we have more information.
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