How does whatsapp store voice mails

WhatsApp, being a messaging app, doesn't actually store voice messages in the classical sense. Instead, it uses a combination of technologies to store and manage voice messages. Here's a high-level overview of how WhatsApp stores voice messages:

  1. Audio encoding: When you record a voice message, WhatsApp compresses the audio using a proprietary algorithm to reduce the file size. This compression helps to reduce the storage requirements and improve transmission efficiency.
  2. Cloud storage: WhatsApp stores the compressed audio files in its cloud storage infrastructure, which is likely a combination of Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Google Cloud Platform (GCP). This allows WhatsApp to scale its storage capacity and ensure that voice messages are accessible across devices.
  3. Database storage: WhatsApp stores metadata about each voice message, such as the sender's and recipient's phone numbers, the message timestamp, and the message content (i.e., the audio file). This metadata is stored in a database, which is likely a relational database management system (RDBMS) like MySQL or PostgreSQL.
  4. Message queueing: When a user sends a voice message, WhatsApp uses a message queueing system to manage the message processing workflow. This ensures that messages are processed in the correct order and that failures are handled gracefully.
  5. Audio streaming: When a user plays a voice message, WhatsApp streams the audio file from its cloud storage infrastructure to the user's device. This allows for efficient playback of the audio file without the need to download the entire file.
  6. Cache storage: To improve performance, WhatsApp stores a cache of recently played voice messages on the user's device. This cache is stored in a local database or file system, and it helps to reduce the number of requests made to the cloud storage infrastructure.

By using a combination of cloud storage, database storage, message queueing, audio streaming, and cache storage, WhatsApp is able to efficiently store and manage voice messages while providing a seamless user experience.