WhatsApp Business becomes available in Brazil
WhatsApp has launched WhatsApp Business, its dedicated Android app for small business owners, in Brazil.
The app aims to provide businesses with tools that make it easier to connect with their customers and grow. Owners can create a business profile, and get access to functionality such as messaging statistics and the ability to provide initial feedback to customer queries automatically.
WhatsApp Business became available to Brazilian businesses last Thursday (25). It had initially become available on Google Play and on the desktop with WhatsApp Web in Indonesia, Italy, Mexico, the UK and the US. The app is free and will be launched in other countries within the next few weeks.
"More than 80 percent of small businesses in India and Brazil say that WhatsApp helps them communicate with their customers," the company said in a statement.
WhatsApp has been working on building on this popularity in Brazil to grow its footprint within the enterprise space.
Brazilian bank Itaú, the 10th largest bank in the world by market value, was the most significant local organization to adopt the Business version of the app.
The company does not disclose the exact number of WhatsApp users in Brazil, but it has said that the country is one of its key markets. Last year, one of its co-founders took part in a series of public hearings in Brazil about integrity of privacy in communications.
Bans have affected WhatsApp four times in Brazil so far as a result of the company's non-compliance with Court orders to provide communication exchanges involving crime suspects.