Koum’s plan to exit comes after clashing with Facebook over the messaging service WhatApp’s strategy and Facebook’s attempts to use its personal data and weaken its encryption, the Washington Post earlier reported, citing people familiar with the internal discussions.
“It’s been almost a decade since Brian and I started WhatsApp, and it’s been an amazing journey with some of the best people,” Koum said in the post.
“But it is time for me to move on.”
Brian Acton left the messaging service company in September to start a new foundation, after spending eight years with WhatsApp.
Stanford alumnus Acton and Ukrainian immigrant Jan Koum co-founded WhatsApp in 2009. Facebook bought Whatsapp in 2014 for $19 billion in cash and stock.
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