For most people in Brazil, texting was never truly accessible. The cost of SMS in the country was as much as 55 times more than in North America and far too expensive for most residents. So when the messaging service WhatsApp entered the market, in 2009, allowing users to send messages to anyone for free and regardless of their mobile carrier, people gravitated toward the platform. Today, 96% of Brazilians with access to a smartphone use WhatsApp as their primary method of communication.