Does whatsapp use c2dm aka GCM on android?

Question

I always thought WhatsApp uses c2dm for message delivery. But when I see running apps MessageService is always running. You don't need a service to be run to receive c2dm.

Why keep the service running all the time?

Facebook is even more strange they have 3 services running. One of them is for uploads. Did they start stealing my photos?

Lictor

If you are rooted you can use Greenify to avoid that: play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.oasisfeng.greenify (and with the Donate version, you can even keep the GCM notifications while WhatsApp is hibernated) – Belinda

Answer 1

Like cached background proccess say - this is an old application proccess that is being kept for better speed in case it is needed again. I suppose, same thing happening with services

Octahedral

Answer 2

WhatsApp uses something like XMPP

WhatsApp uses a customized version of the open standard Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP).

See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WhatsApp

I'm using GCM myself for a chat application for Android. It's still not working properly if the device is idle for a long time.

Beating

In their FAQ, they mention Google's push notification service. I don't think they've implemented their own service on Android. (source: whatsapp.com/faq/en/android/20887936) – Jerlenejermain