---
title: "WhatsApp: search popularity worldwide"
description: "WhatsApp is a messaging app used in New Zealand. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time."
canonical: "https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/brands/whatsapp"
publisher: "Brandwave"
---

# WhatsApp: search popularity worldwide

WhatsApp is a messaging app used in New Zealand. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time.

## Key facts

- **Brand**: WhatsApp
- **Owned by**: Meta
- **Market**: Global
- **Measured month**: Sep 2026
- **Share of Search among messaging apps**: 85.5%

## Where the brand sits

| Competitive set | Rank | Share of Search | Estimated monthly branded searches |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Messaging apps | 1 | 85.5% | 277M |

- [Messaging apps](/demand/global-en/categories/messaging-apps)

## How has branded search demand for WhatsApp changed worldwide over the last 12 months?

- Across the 12 months ending September 2026, estimated monthly branded searches for WhatsApp worldwide rose from 226M to 277M.
- Across the 12 months ending September 2026, WhatsApp’s estimated Share of Search among messaging apps worldwide increased from 79.7% to 85.5%.
- Across the 12 months ending September 2026, WhatsApp’s estimated Share of Search among messaging apps worldwide peaked at 85.5% in September 2026 and was lowest at 77.4% in December 2025.

## How did search popularity change for messaging apps worldwide in September 2026?

- In September 2026, WhatsApp gained estimated Share of Search among messaging apps worldwide, from 80.8% to 85.5%.
- In September 2026, Discord lost estimated Share of Search among messaging apps worldwide, from 13.3% to 9.4%.
- In September 2026, Messenger lost estimated Share of Search among messaging apps worldwide, from 4.9% to 4.2%.
- Estimated monthly branded searches for Viber worldwide fell 33.3% over 12 measured months, from 1.5M to 1M in September 2026.
- Estimated monthly branded searches for Signal worldwide fell 18% over 12 measured months, from 1.2M to 1M in September 2026.
- Estimated monthly branded searches for WeChat worldwide fell 17.7% over 12 measured months, from 1M to 823K in September 2026.

## Historical estimated branded-search demand

| Month | Competitive set | Estimated monthly branded searches | Share of Search | Rank |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Oct 2025 | Messaging apps | 226M | 79.7% | 1 |
| Nov 2025 | Messaging apps | 226M | 80.7% | 1 |
| Dec 2025 | Messaging apps | 185M | 77.4% | 1 |
| Jan 2026 | Messaging apps | 185M | 77.4% | 1 |
| Feb 2026 | Messaging apps | 185M | 79.7% | 1 |
| Mar 2026 | Messaging apps | 226M | 80.7% | 1 |
| Apr 2026 | Messaging apps | 226M | 82.8% | 1 |
| May 2026 | Messaging apps | 226M | 80.8% | 1 |
| Jun 2026 | Messaging apps | 226M | 82.8% | 1 |
| Jul 2026 | Messaging apps | 226M | 82.9% | 1 |
| Aug 2026 | Messaging apps | 226M | 80.8% | 1 |
| Sep 2026 | Messaging apps | 277M | 85.5% | 1 |

## How is WhatsApp measured?

Brandwave collects information about searches that people make online using WhatsApp’s name. When viewed over time, estimated search volumes for this branded term can be used to understand whether interest in the brand is growing, holding steady, or fading.

- “whatsapp”

## Which messaging apps compete with WhatsApp?

- [Discord](/demand/global-en/brands/discord): Head-to-head: /demand/global-en/compare/discord-vs-whatsapp
- [Messenger](/demand/global-en/brands/messenger): Head-to-head: /demand/global-en/compare/messenger-vs-whatsapp
- [Signal](/demand/global-en/brands/signal): Head-to-head: /demand/global-en/compare/signal-vs-whatsapp
- [Viber](/demand/global-en/brands/viber): Head-to-head: /demand/global-en/compare/viber-vs-whatsapp
- [WeChat](/demand/global-en/brands/wechat): Head-to-head: /demand/global-en/compare/wechat-vs-whatsapp

## Who owns WhatsApp?

WhatsApp is owned by Meta. Brandwave also tracks Meta AI, Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, Meta Ads, Meta Quest and Threads, owned by the same company, worldwide.

- [Meta](/demand/global-en/companies/meta): Owns 9 tracked brands.

## Methodology

- [How is branded search demand measured?](/demand/methodology): Where the figures come from, what they compare, and how they may be reused.

## Frequently asked questions

### Who owns WhatsApp?

WhatsApp is owned by Meta. Brandwave also tracks Meta AI, Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, Meta Ads, Meta Quest and Threads, owned by the same company, worldwide.

## Cite this page

Brandwave. "WhatsApp: search popularity worldwide". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/brands/whatsapp

This page is also available as HTML at https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/brands/whatsapp. Brandwave publishes an index of its Markdown pages at https://gobrandwave.com/llms.txt.