WhatsApp CEO Jan Koum Leaving Company

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Jan Koum, the chief executive and co-founder of WhatsApp, the messaging application owned by Facebook, announced on Monday that he is leaving the company.

"It's been almost a decade since Brian [Acton] and I started WhatsApp, and it's been an amazing journey with some of the best people. But it is time for me to move on… I'm leaving at a time when people are using WhatsApp in more ways than I could have imagined. The team is stronger than ever and it'll continue to do amazing things… Thanks to everyone who has made this journey possible," Jan Koum said on Facebook.

WhatsApp is a cross-platform messaging application, which allows sending of text messages and voice calls, as well as different types of media content. WhatsApp is the largest messaging service in the world with over one billion users in 180 countries.

On Monday, The Washington Post newspaper reported citing informed sources that Koum was planning to leave the company over disagreements with Facebook. The disagreements, in particular, included the messaging service's strategy, Facebook’s attempts to use its personal data and weaken its encryption.

READ MORE: WhatsApp to Ban People Under 16 From Using Service in EU 

Facebook bought WhatsApp for more than $19 billion in 2014.