After WhatsApp was pulled out from the Windows Phone Store with nothing for an explanation, the smartphone messenger has reappeared on the app store now with a slew of additional features.
Users can again download their favorite cross-platform messenger app on the Windows Phone Store. The app, which allows people to send messages over 3G or Wi-Fi instead of the user's regular cellular network, now has chat backgrounds, custom notifications, broadcast lists, and automatic downloads for media and improved privacy settings. Many users have also noted the smoother interface and faster scrolling on the updated WhatsApp.
WhatsApp, which unceremoniously disappeared from the Windows Phone Store around two weeks ago, returned with a bang Friday, May 30. Joe Belfiore, Microsoft vice president and manager for Windows Phone, took to Twitter to announce the app's comeback.
"WHATSAPP IS BACK! HAPPY WEEKEND! Grab from here: https://t.co/MhNwf46hZs," he said on Twitter.
On May 17, some Windows Phone users accidentally uninstalled WhatsApp from their smartphones. When they tried to install it again, they found out that the app was no longer on the Windows Phone Store. The discovery led to a bevy of posts from Windows Phone users who were furious at Microsoft for allegedly pulling out the app without warning users, even though Microsoft was hardly to blame.
It turns out the WhatsApp team has decided to "unpublish temporarily" the messenger app to fix unidentified "technical issues."
"We are working closely with Microsoft to resolve the issues and hope to return to the store shortly," wrote the WhatsApp team in a statement emailed to WinBeta.org. "We apologize for the temporary inconvenience. Unfortunately we cannot comment on any future timelines, sorry. Thank you for your continued patience and support of WhatsApp."
Belfiore again took to Twitter to say that the issues involved errors that permanently disabled notifications on WhatsApp for the third update of Windows Phone 8. Windows Phone 8.1 developer preview was unaffected, but WhatsApp decided to pull out the app from the beta platform nonetheless.
WhatsApp is one of the most popular messenger apps in the world. In April, WhatsApp reported that it has reached 500 million users from around the world, with most of its rapid growth happening in countries where people have to pay a premium to send messages over their phone networks, including countries such as India, Brazil, Mexico and Russia. Facebook bought WhatsApp for a whopping price of $19 billion in February.
The app can be downloaded for free for the first year and sells at $0.99 per year for the following years.
