WhatsApp has announced in its blog post that it is dropping the 99 cents annual subscription fee that comes after the first year of free usage of the messaging service. The $0.99 fee was introduced some few years back and was only applicable to the new users. The earliest users of the messaging service got lifetime free usage of the messaging service.
In the blog post, the Company wrote, “As we’ve grown, we’ve found that this approach hasn’t worked well. Many WhatsApp users don’t have a debit or credit card numbers, and they are worried they’d lose access to their friends and family after their first year. So over the next several weeks, we’ll remove fees from the different versions of our app and WhatsApp will no longer charge you for our services.”
The announcement took effect as soon as WhatsApp made the announcement. However, for the users that had already paid their subscription fee for the new year. Sorry, the company will not be signing out 99 cents check to you!
The move to drop the $0.99 annual subscription fee by the messaging service was driven by the fact that the majority of users of the messaging service don’t have a credit card or debit card, and thus most people only used WhatsApp in the first year with no subscription required.
From the very beginning, the founders of WhatsApp were strongly opposed to selling ads on their messaging service. A principle the messaging services has remained faithful to, even after being sold to Facebook.
With the subscription fee revenue out no longer an option, and the company still not opting to sell ads, the company has also announced that it plans on generating revenue by offering services to businesses.
The Company said, “We will test tools that allow you to use WhatsApp to communicate with businesses and organizations that you want to hear from.”
That means that WhatsApp users will now be able to contact their banks, airline companies among other corporations. It is these corporations using WhatsApp as a means to reach customers that will pay messaging service. You as a user will enjoy free access to the service all year, every year and yet, you will still not be bombarded with ads while using the messaging platform.