There are a couple of cross-platform messaging apps that will help you bridge the divide between your friends on iOS and Android, but over the last year, WhatsApp has become the most popular option, and it’s caught the attention of Google.

A new report claims that Google is in talks to buy WhatsApp for $1 billion, but the talks have been going on for four or five weeks and haven’t been finalized yet.

The next update to WhatsApp for Android is set to introduce a new interface that better fits Android’s Holo UI guidelines. It hasn’t yet been made available in the Google Play store, but a screenshot of its notification settings has been leaked ahead of the release.

WhatsApp, the hugely popular cross-platform messaging system available to Android and iOS, saw out 2012 with an incredible bang. The company has announced that it processed a staggering 18 billion messages on New Year’s Eve alone, exceeding its previous record of 10 billion messages processed last August.

WhatsApp could be the next item on Facebook’s shopping list.

Following its acquisition of Instagram earlier this year, Facebook is said to be eyeing up another popular service. Cross-platform messenger WhatsApp could be the next item on the social network’s shopping list as the company looks to extend its mobile presence, according to sources close to the matter.