WhatsApp has a new business app for Android

WhatsApp has been working on a business focused app for small and medium sized businesses over the past year, and the app is now ready to download on Android users.

Much like the official mainstream Android app, this one is built for personal texting and use with a phone number, with some extra perks, detailed below from WhatsApp’s post on the new app.

• Business Profiles: Help customers with useful information such as a business description, email or store addresses, and website.
• Messaging Tools: Save time with smart messaging tools — quick replies that provide fast answers to frequently asked questions, greeting messages that introduce customers to your business, and away messages that let them know you’re busy.
• Messaging Statistics: Review simple metrics like the number of messages read to see what’s working.
• WhatsApp Web: Send and receive messages with WhatsApp Business on your desktop.
• Account Type: People will know that they’re talking to a business because you will be listed as a Business Account. Over time, some businesses will have Confirmed Accounts once it’s been confirmed that the account phone number matches the business phone number.

WhatsApp’s new business app is available on Android and can be downloaded from the Google Play Store now in Indonesia, Italy, Mexico, the United States and the United Kingdom right now. The app will roll out globally, and presumably to iOS, in the coming weeks.