Android received WhatsApp support in August 2010. This was an important expansion beyond the iPhone, where WhatsApp had first built its early user base.
WhatsApp began as an iPhone application in 2009, then broadened its reach as Android smartphones became increasingly popular. Adding Android support helped the service move from a largely Apple-centered audience toward a genuinely cross-platform messaging network. BlackBerry OS, Symbian, and Windows Phone support came at different points in WhatsApp’s early history, so they are easy to confuse with this milestone.
The August 2010 date refers to platform support, not the founding of WhatsApp or the launch of its iPhone application. WhatsApp’s basic appeal was that users could message contacts through an internet connection using their existing phone numbers, rather than relying on traditional SMS. That model made expansion to Android especially significant as smartphone adoption accelerated.
Later, WhatsApp added voice calls, video calls, group features, media sharing, and desktop-linked devices. Android remains one of the service’s central supported platforms, but the app’s early cross-platform growth was a major reason it became a global communications service.