Did WhatsApp have much in the way of storage needs? I don&#x27;t think that they did. This is where the cost goes, durability. They were basically just a giant switchboard with some buddy lists (aka glorified MSN Messenger with SMS gateways). It&#x27;s no wonder they were able to keep costs down and grow. They didn&#x27;t have a lot of storage and persistence needs, just passing datagrams around the Internet between phones.<p>Edit: My apologies if I&#x27;ve offended the HN mystique surrounding the god-like status of WhatsApp. Ask Jan yourself, they weren&#x27;t geniuses. I know Jan. He won&#x27;t claim to be this exalted persona.