$19 billion dollars later, Jan Koum, a founder of WhatsApp, is stinkin’ rich. The simplicity, great design and general reliability of WhatsApp is what got the mobile messaging app 450 million users and a deal with Facebook. Aside from four hours of downtime during the Saturday after the deal was announced, the company prides itself on reliability.
Those reasons, plus a few more, make WhatsApp a great option for Wanderlusters trying to text for free while traveling abroad. Using a wifi connection, free messaging options like Skype for mobile devices or iMessage will work. They are limiting though. Remember the times you forgot your password to Skype and had to recover it? Forget that with WhatsApp. The app uses your phone number as a login and imports all the members on your contact list who also have WhatsApp. iMessage, while convenient, confines you to only communicating with iPhone users.
Three Reasons to Use WhatsApp to Text for Free While Traveling
No International Fees
Avoid the hassle of phone bill charges by relying on wifi. Most lodging options include free wifi or On the chance you’re looking for wifi in a pinch, you can almost always count on a McDonald’s or Starbucks being located near some of the most amazing travel destinations in the world. Sad but true.
*WhatsApp is free to use for the first year and after that costs $1 per year.
Send Your Location
Sure, you can send a pin from Google Maps but why switch from app to app when you don’t have to. It’s quick and easy to send your location in WhatsApp. Mom will know you’re on schedule, haven’t been kidnapped or eloped to live in a foreign country with a handsome Italian wine maker for the rest of your days. Wait, what?
Broadcast Lists
Send a message to a Broadcast list and that message will be sent to each individual contact on the list. Their reply will appear in a private thread rather than in a group message. Perfect when you want to avoid those out-of-hand group threads that inevitably become a really annoying conversation between just two participants.
What do you use to keep in touch with friends and families while traveling abroad? Share your tips in the comments below.
Happy travels,
@laurylkitson