On what date was the first version of WhatsApp released?

The first version of WhatsApp was released on May 3, 2009.

Jan Koum founded WhatsApp after buying an iPhone and imagining an app that could display users’ statuses in their contact lists. He incorporated WhatsApp Inc. in California on February 24, 2009, with former Yahoo colleague Brian Acton later joining as co-founder.

The early product was designed for Apple’s iPhone and initially focused on status updates rather than full instant messaging. After Apple introduced push notifications in June 2009, WhatsApp evolved rapidly into a messaging service. WhatsApp 2.0, released in August 2009, added the purpose-built messaging component that helped attract many more users.

A common mix-up is confusing WhatsApp’s first iPhone release with its later platform launches. The app appeared on BlackBerry in June 2009, Symbian in 2010, and Android later in 2010. The May 3 date refers to the original release of WhatsApp Messenger itself.