System Design Example — WhatsApp

Client Platforms:

  • iOS, Android (native)
  • Web (browser-based)

Features:

  1. One-to-one and group messaging (via WebSocket)
  2. HTTP-based signup, login, settings
  3. Message encryption

Data Storage:

  • NoSQL for chat history (retained for 1 month)
  • RDBMS for user data
  • CDN for message transfer

Security:

  • End-to-end encryption using per-contact secret keys
  • Only sender and receiver can decrypt messages

To Be Continued…

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