Ask HN: what is business model of snapchat,whatsapp and others?

WhatsApp charges something like $1 a year I think. Adding that up among 100 million + (or so I've heard) equals a decent turnover.

They're also great personal data collectors and location trackers, which can help location-driven data (even if they don't advertise but still collect such data).

They exist only to be acquired, like Youtube.