How Would You Improve WhatsApp? | Meta PM Interview Question
Meta Product Manager Interview: Product Improvement - How would you improve WhatsApp?
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“How would you improve WhatsApp?”
If you’ve interviewed for a PM role at Meta or any major tech company, you’ve likely faced this question - or one very similar to it. It’s deceptively simple, deliberately open-ended, and designed to reveal how you think about products, users, and trade-offs.
Today, I’m walking you through exactly how I’d answer this question using the PQ-GUP-SEMS framework. This isn’t just theory - it’s a real, interview-ready response that demonstrates structured thinking, user empathy, and business acumen.
Let’s dive in.
How To Answer Product Improvement Questions?
Here’s a proven nine-step framework for answering any product improvement question.
0. Keywords - Pay attention to the keywords in the question.
1. P - Product: Describe what the product does and who it serves.
2. Q – Questions: Ask clarifying questions to narrow the scope.
3. G – Goal: Define the business or user goal you’re improving.
4. U – Users: Identify user segments and pick one to focus on.
5. P – Pain Points: List key pain points for that segment.
6. S – Solutions: Brainstorm possible improvements.
7. E – Evaluate: Prioritize solutions and discuss trade-offs.
8. M – Metrics: Define success metrics.
9. S – Summarize: Recap your reasoning clearly.
Use the mnemonic PQ-GUP-SEMS to remember the sequence.
Step 0: Listen for Keywords
The question is: “How would you improve WhatsApp?”
Key observations:
“Improve” is ambiguous - could mean engagement, retention, revenue, features, or user experience
“WhatsApp” - the entire platform, not a specific feature
No specific user segment mentioned
No geographic or platform constraints given
I’d write this down to stay focused throughout my answer.
Step 1: Describe the Product
WhatsApp is a cross-platform messaging application that enables users to send text messages, voice messages, make voice and video calls, and share media files over the internet. It serves over 2 billion users globally, with particularly strong adoption in markets like India, Brazil, and across Europe and Asia.
The product is designed for personal communication—connecting friends, families, and increasingly, small businesses with their customers. Users engage with WhatsApp multiple times daily for quick, reliable, and private communication. The core pain point WhatsApp solves is enabling free, instant communication across borders without SMS fees, while maintaining end-to-end encryption for privacy.
WhatsApp’s key differentiators are its simplicity, reliability, and privacy-first approach. Unlike other social platforms, it focuses purely on communication rather than content discovery or social networking.
Confirm with interviewer: “Does this align with your understanding of WhatsApp?”
Step 2: Ask Clarifying Questions to trim down the scope of the question
Before proceeding, I’d ask:
Q1: When you mention ‘improve,’ what aspect should I focus on? Are we looking at:
User engagement and retention?
Revenue generation?
New user acquisition?
Feature expansion?
Or would you like me to choose based on what I think is most strategic?
Q2: Are there any specific user segments or geographic markets I should prioritize, or should I consider the global user base?
Q3: Should I focus on a particular platform—mobile app, web, or desktop—or can I think broadly across all platforms?
Q4: Are there any constraints I should be aware of, such as maintaining WhatsApp’s privacy-first approach or its simple user interface?
→ Interviewer response (assumed): “Focus on improving engagement. You can choose the user segment and should maintain WhatsApp’s core values of privacy and simplicity.”
Step 3: Define the Goal you want to achieve.
Given the direction to focus on engagement, I’ll aim to increase daily active usage and the depth of engagement for WhatsApp users. This is strategically important because:
Higher engagement drives network effects - More active users make the platform more valuable for everyone
Engagement supports monetization - Through WhatsApp Business and future revenue streams
Retention follows engagement - Deeply engaged users are less likely to churn
Competitive positioning - With competition from Telegram, Signal, and iMessage, maintaining high engagement keeps users loyal
I’ll measure success through metrics like
messages sent per user per day,
session frequency,
session duration,
and, feature adoption rates.
Step 4: Identify User Segments for WhatsApp
WhatsApp serves several distinct user segments:
Personal Users - Family Connectors
Who: People using WhatsApp primarily to stay in touch with family members, especially across distances
Behavior: Regular check-ins, photo/video sharing, family group chats
Pain points: Managing large family groups, finding old photos/memories, coordinating family events
Personal Users - Friend Groups
Who: Young adults and teens using WhatsApp for social connections
Behavior: Active group chats, meme sharing, voice notes, status updates
Pain points: Group chat overload, managing multiple friend groups, expressing themselves creatively
Professional Users
Who: Individuals using WhatsApp for work communication
Behavior: Quick work updates, client communication, team coordination
Pain points: Mixing personal and professional messages, lack of professional features, difficulty finding important messages
Small Business Owners
Who: Entrepreneurs and small business owners using WhatsApp Business
Behavior: Customer service, order taking, appointment scheduling, marketing
Pain points: Managing high message volume, organizing customers, limited automation, payment friction
Segment Selection
For this exercise, I’ll focus on Personal Users - Friend Groups, specifically young adults aged 18-35. Here’s why:
Size and growth potential - This is one of WhatsApp’s largest and most active segments
High engagement baseline - They already use WhatsApp extensively, so improvements can have immediate impact
Network effects - This demographic heavily influences their peers’ platform choices
Future monetization - Understanding their needs positions WhatsApp for future revenue opportunities
Competitive threat - This segment has the most alternatives (Telegram, Discord, Snapchat) so keeping them engaged is critical
Step 5: List and Prioritize Pain Points for the selected user segment
Let me take a moment to think through the pain points this segment faces...
Pain Point 1: Group Chat Overload
Description: Users are in 10-15+ active group chats, leading to notification fatigue and missed important messages. They struggle to keep track of which groups need attention and often miss messages from high-priority groups.
Impact: High - directly affects daily user experience and can drive users to mute notifications entirely
Pain Point 2: Limited Expression and Creativity
Description: While WhatsApp has basic media sharing, it lacks native creative tools. Users want to express themselves beyond text and standard photos—through edited photos, reactions, GIFs, and personalized content.
Impact: Medium-High - affects engagement depth and makes WhatsApp feel less fun compared to other platforms
Pain Point 3: Difficulty Finding Past Conversations and Media
Description: Important messages, photos, and videos get buried in long chat histories. Users struggle to find that restaurant recommendation from three weeks ago or the photo someone shared last month.
Impact: Medium - creates friction but users have learned to work around it
Pain Point 4: Awkward One-on-One Interactions
Description: Starting or continuing conversations with acquaintances feels forced. There’s no natural way to discover what friends are up to without directly messaging them, creating social friction.
Impact: Medium - limits platform engagement beyond close relationships
Pain Point 5: Event Planning and Coordination Complexity
Description: Planning events through group chats is chaotic. Important details get lost, people forget who’s attending, and there’s no structured way to manage RSVPs, location, or timing.
Impact: Medium - affects specific but frequent use cases
Prioritization
I’ll prioritize based on user impact × frequency × strategic value:
Top Priority: Group Chat Overload
Affects users constantly throughout the day
Directly impacts retention (users who feel overwhelmed may disengage)
Solving this enhances the core messaging experience
Second Priority: Limited Expression and Creativity
Differentiates WhatsApp in a competitive landscape
Increases engagement depth and session duration
Appeals to the emotional/social needs of the demographic
Third Priority: Event Planning and Coordination
High frequency for this demographic
Creates clear value over competitors
Natural extension of existing group chat functionality
Step 6: List out your Solutions to solve the pain points
Now let me brainstorm solutions for the top pain points...
Solutions for Pain Point 1: Group Chat Overload
Solution 1A - Intelligent Chat Prioritization: Create an AI-powered inbox that automatically categorizes chats into “Priority,” “Groups,” and “Other” based on user behavior, message frequency, and explicit user preferences. Priority chats would show at the top with enhanced notifications.
Solution 1B - Custom Chat Folders: Allow users to create custom folders (like “Family,” “Work Friends,” “College Group,” etc.) to organize their chats. Users can set different notification preferences per folder and quickly filter their chat list.
Solution 1C - Smart Notification Summaries: Instead of individual notifications for busy groups, provide periodic smart summaries (every 2-4 hours) that highlight key points: “@mentions, 3 photos shared, Sarah suggested Friday at 7pm.” Users can choose which groups get real-time vs. summary notifications.
Solution 1D - Group Chat Threads: Introduce optional threading within groups so side conversations don’t clutter the main chat. When someone starts a specific topic, others can reply in a thread, making conversations easier to follow.
Solutions for Pain Point 2: Limited Expression and Creativity
Solution 2A - Built-in Photo/Video Editor: Add native editing tools allowing users to draw, add text, stickers, and filters to photos and videos before sending. Think Instagram Stories creative tools but within the messaging flow.
Solution 2B - Expanded Reaction Options: Extend beyond the current emoji reactions to allow any emoji, custom reactions, or even reaction with photos/GIFs. Make it easy to respond expressively without typing.
Solution 2C - Collaborative Canvas: Create shared whiteboards/canvases within chats where friends can doodle together, share mood boards, or create collaborative content. Particularly useful for creative planning or just having fun.
Solution 2D: Rich Status Features Enhance Status with music integration (like Instagram Reels), interactive elements (polls, questions, quizzes), and better discoverability among close friends. Make Status a true engagement driver.
Solutions for Pain Point 3: Event Planning Complexity
Solution 3A - Native Event Cards: Create structured event messages with fields for title, date/time, location (with map), RSVP tracking, and shared details. All event information stays organized in one interactive card that updates in real-time.
Solution 3B - Shared Calendars for Groups: Let groups create shared calendars where members can propose events, see what’s coming up, and sync to their personal calendars. Reduces the back-and-forth of “when are we meeting again?”
Solution 3C - Smart Event Extraction: Use AI to detect when groups are planning events and automatically suggest creating an event card. “It looks like you’re planning dinner Friday. Want to create an event?” One tap to structure the conversation.
Solution 3D - Location Sharing Evolution: Upgrade live location sharing for events—show who’s on their way, estimated arrival times, and easy navigation. Create temporary location-sharing groups for events that expire automatically.
Step 7: Evaluate the Solutions and Prioritize Them
Now I need to evaluate these solutions across multiple dimensions:
Evaluation Criteria
User Impact: How significantly does this improve the experience?
Development Effort: Engineering complexity and resources required
Strategic Alignment: Does it maintain WhatsApp’s simplicity and privacy values?
Adoption Potential: Will users discover and use this feature?
Competitive Differentiation: Does this set WhatsApp apart?
Impact-Effort Analysis
High Impact, Low-Medium Effort:
Smart Notification Summaries - Leverages existing notification system, adds intelligence layer
Expanded Reaction Options - Builds on existing reaction feature
Smart Event Extraction - Uses AI on existing message content
High Impact, High Effort:
Intelligent Chat Prioritization - Requires sophisticated AI/ML
Built-in Photo/Video Editor - Significant development but clear user demand
Native Event Cards - New interaction paradigm but high utility
Medium Impact, Low-Medium Effort:
Custom Chat Folders - Relatively simple UI feature
Rich Status Features - Extends existing Status functionality
Medium Impact, High Effort:
Group Chat Threads - Complex UI/UX change to core messaging
Collaborative Canvas - Novel feature requiring new infrastructure
Shared Calendars - Significant scope, potential privacy concerns
Prioritized Recommendation
Phase 1 (Immediate - 0-3 months):
Priority 1: Smart Notification Summaries
Why: Addresses the top pain point with reasonable effort
Implementation: Start with simple time-based summaries, evolve to AI-powered intelligent summaries
Risk mitigation: Make it opt-in initially to test adoption
Expected impact: 20-30% reduction in notification fatigue, 15% increase in users keeping notifications enabled
Priority 2: Expanded Reaction Options
Why: Quick win for expression, builds on existing feature
Implementation: Allow any emoji as reaction, add long-press shortcut
Expected impact: 40% increase in reaction usage, higher emotional engagement
Phase 2 (Near-term - 3-6 months):
Priority 3: Native Event Cards
Why: Solves concrete use case, differentiates from competitors
Implementation: Start with basic event structure, add RSVP tracking
Expected impact: Capture the event planning use case, 25% of groups use it monthly
Priority 4: Built-in Photo/Video Editor
Why: Keeps users in-app for content creation, increases engagement depth
Implementation: Partner with existing library or build lightweight version
Expected impact: 30% increase in photo/video sharing, longer session times
Phase 3 (Long-term - 6-12 months):
Priority 5: Custom Chat Folders
Why: Gives power users better organization tools
Implementation: Opt-in feature for users who want it
Expected impact: Heavy users create average of 4 folders, 35% reduction in time finding chats
Trade-offs Discussion
Smart Notification Summaries:
Pro: Reduces overwhelm without removing important information
Con: Risk of users missing urgent messages if summary timing is wrong
Mitigation: Always deliver @mentions and replies immediately, summarize only general group messages
Native Event Cards:
Pro: Structured data makes planning effortless, clear differentiator
Con: Adds complexity to the simple messaging interface
Mitigation: Make it optional (suggest but don’t force), keep UI lightweight
Built-in Editor:
Pro: Keeps users engaged within WhatsApp, increases content quality
Con: Could make app feel bloated, goes against minimalism
Mitigation: Keep tools simple and intuitive, don’t try to compete with professional editing apps
Step 8: Define Success Metrics
Primary Metrics (Direct Goal Alignment)
Engagement Metrics:
Daily Active Users (DAU): Expect 3-5% increase over 6 months
Messages Sent Per User Per Day: Target 8-10% increase
Session Frequency: Increase from average 10 to 12 sessions per day
Session Duration: Increase average session time by 15-20%
Feature-Specific Metrics:
Notification Summary Adoption: 40% of eligible users opt-in within 3 months
Reaction Usage: 50% increase in daily reactions sent
Event Card Creation: 25% of groups create at least one event per month
Photo Editor Usage: 30% of photos sent use editing tools
Secondary Metrics (Health & Guardrails)
User Satisfaction:
NPS Score: Maintain or improve current score (ensure changes don’t harm perception)
Feature-Specific CSAT: Target 4+ out of 5 for new features
Support Ticket Volume: Ensure no significant increase in confusion-related tickets
Retention Metrics:
7-Day Retention: Maintain or improve (ensure changes don’t confuse/frustrate users)
30-Day Retention: Target 2-3% improvement
Churn Rate: Reduce by 1-2%
Technical Health:
App Performance: Ensure no degradation in load times or crash rates
Notification Open Rate: Maintain above 60% (ensure summaries don’t reduce engagement)
Feature Discovery Rate: 60% of target users discover new features within 30 days
Privacy & Trust:
User Reports: No increase in privacy-related concerns
Encryption Integrity: Maintain end-to-end encryption for all features
How We’d Measure
Quantitative Tracking:
A/B testing with control groups for each feature rollout
Firebase Analytics for in-app behavior tracking
Server-side event logging for aggregated metrics
Cohort analysis to understand long-term impact
Qualitative Feedback:
In-app surveys for feature-specific feedback
User interviews with representative sample (20-30 users per feature)
App store review sentiment analysis
Community forum monitoring
Success Milestones:
Week 4: 20% feature adoption among test group, positive CSAT
Month 3: Hit 40% feature adoption, see 5% engagement lift
Month 6: Achieve target metrics, prepare for full rollout
Month 12: Sustained engagement improvements, high user satisfaction
Step 9: Summary
Let me bring this all together:
Goal: Increase engagement among young adult friend groups on WhatsApp
User Segment: Personal users aged 18-35 who use WhatsApp for social connections with friends
Top Pain Points Identified:
Group chat overload leading to notification fatigue
Limited creative expression tools
Event planning complexity in group conversations
Prioritized Solutions:
Smart Notification Summaries - Intelligently batch notifications from busy groups while ensuring important messages get through immediately
Expanded Reaction Options - Allow any emoji as a reaction to increase expressive communication
Native Event Cards - Structured event planning tools within group chats
Built-in Photo/Video Editor - Creative tools for media before sharing
Custom Chat Folders - Organization tools for power users
Expected Impact:
3-5% increase in DAU
8-10% more messages sent per user daily
40% adoption of notification summaries
50% increase in reaction usage
Overall improvement in user satisfaction and retention
Why This Works: These solutions address real friction points while maintaining WhatsApp’s core values of simplicity and privacy. They enhance what WhatsApp already does well—facilitating meaningful communication—rather than transforming it into something it’s not. The phased approach allows us to learn and iterate based on user feedback while managing engineering resources effectively.
Key Takeaways for Your Interview
If you faced this question in an interview, here’s what made this answer strong:
✅ Structured approach - Followed a clear framework from start to finish
✅ Clarifying questions - Narrowed scope before diving into solutions
✅ User-centric thinking - Deeply understood user segments and their pain points
✅ Multiple solutions - Generated 10+ ideas before evaluating
✅ Thoughtful prioritization - Used clear criteria and discussed trade-offs
✅ Metrics-driven - Defined specific, measurable success criteria
✅ Strategic alignment - Kept WhatsApp’s core values in mind throughout
✅ Complete answer - Covered all steps without rushing
Remember: interviewers aren’t looking for you to perfectly redesign WhatsApp. They want to see how you think, how you break down ambiguous problems, and how you balance user needs with business goals.
Your Turn to Practice
Want to master product improvement questions? Practice with these:
How would you improve Instagram Stories?
How would you improve Spotify for podcast listeners?
How would you improve Google Maps?
How would you improve Slack for remote teams?
Use the PQ-GUP-SEMS framework for each one. Time yourself—aim to complete your answer in 30-40 minutes, just like in a real interview.
The more you practice, the more natural this structured thinking becomes.
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