WhatsApp Going Entirely Free After Dropping Subscription Fees

[MacRumors]

Popular real-time messaging app WhatsApp today announced that it will no longer be charging customers subscription fees after their first free year with the service. The company noted that the approach of giving users a free year with the app and then removing its features "hasn't worked well," since some customers didn't have credit or debit cards they could use to continue the service, potentially losing contact with friends and family after being blocked behind a paywall.

That's why we're happy to announce that WhatsApp will no longer charge subscription fees. For many years, we've asked some people to pay a fee for using WhatsApp after their first year. 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 number and they 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 service.

WhatsApp confirmed that the messaging service is switching to a custom monetization model that still won't center around third-party advertisements. Starting this year, the company will begin testing tools that let users interact with businesses that they care about, which "could mean communicating with your bank about whether a recent transaction was fraudulent, or with an airline about a delayed flight."

Plans for the new non-subscription service will begin to rollout "over the next several weeks" to each platform that WhatsApp is available on. Users that have yet to download WhatsApp Messenger can do so from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]

Article Link: WhatsApp Going Entirely Free After Dropping Subscription Fees

 

[BSDanalyst]

Because your personal data is worth more, join us for free! -WhatsApp

 

[Sirious]

I had "lifetime service" anyway

 

[Blujelly]

I had "lifetime service" anyway

haha same! To be honest I use iMessage over Whatsapp anyways

 

[huffhuff]

I don't think I ever paid originally and fairly sure I haven't paid since? How did that happen?

 

[rudychidiac]

I hope they also focus more on their web app and maybe allow messaging from iPad and Apple Watch...

 

[bushido]

I never even had to pay. it just randomly showed End of 2015 then End of 2016 on its own. How would that even work. IAP?

 

[adamjackson]

All this will do is teach our kids that apps and services should be free. It's happening with the Chromebook in schools. Hopefully they figure out that its their personal information that's being sold and that's worth much more than the dollar a month they'd have to pay to use the service.

 

[Freyqq]

Makes sense. They were bought out by Facebook, and this is the kind of monetization that they're good at.

 

[navaira]

WhatsApp wasn't free? Since when? How? I've used it for ages and never paid a penny. Odd.

 

[LordQ]

When something is free, you're not the client—you are the product.

 

[UltraInstinct]

Over the last 6 years or more I've only paid maybe once and it was 69p.

 

[SimonTheSoundMa]

Over the last 6 years or more I've only paid maybe once and it was 69p.

But why? I've never seen an option to pay for it, I'm in the UK too.

 

[Blujelly]

But why? I've never seen an option to pay for it, I'm in the UK too.

I'm from the UK too I have the weirdest feeling for iPhones it has been free (or was during a certain period) my friend has an android and gets charged to use it.

 

[69Mustang]

All this will do is teach our kids that apps and services should be free. It's happening with the Chromebook in schools. Hopefully they figure out that its their personal information that's being sold and that's worth much more than the dollar a month they'd have to pay to use the service.

Are you using "personal information being sold" as a euphemism for anonymous aggregated data being used to sell targeted ad space? If not, who exactly are these companies that sell your personal information? Please don't say who I think you mean, because those companies (including Whatsapp) don't sell any of your personal information.

As for the accusation of it happening with Chromebooks in school, yeah that's wrong as well. The accusation by the EFF was refuted by the Future of Privacy Forum and The Software and Information Industry Association (two co-authors of the Student Privacy Pledge).

 

[usamaah]

More than iMessage, WhatsApp competitors are Hangouts (or whatever Google decides for the year), Telegram, Viber and so many other truly cross platform messaging apps. So everyone saying I use iMessage anyway, this isn't to get you to convert.

I keep iMessage turned off on my Mac and iPad since I use Android and using iMessage would just make everything break in terms of cross platform syncing. That's why Telegram, WhatsApp and Hangouts are preferred. All have web clients and Telegram has native software for OS X and Windows.

 

[navaira]

I'm from the UK too I have the weirdest feeling for iPhones it has been free (or was during a certain period) my friend has an android and gets charged to use it.

I'm on Android and I never paid for it. Maybe it was US only?

 

[blackcrayon]

Whatsapp confirmed they're getting their butt kicked by Telegram so can't really justify charging a fee anymore...

 

[Blujelly]

I'm on Android and I never paid for it. Maybe it was US only?

I general don't know, I thought I something ages ago where if you got and activated the app during a certain time frame you didn't pay, but they then changed the rules after for iPhone users and some had to pay.

My mate has paid a small fee to use Whats app on his android though.

 

[JGIGS]

haha same! To be honest I use iMessage over Whatsapp anyways

Just imagine if apple released an iMessage app for android. What'sapp would have to pay us to keep using it. I'd be more into what's app if I could use it on a mac. still so much easier to type on a physical keyboard.

 

[Manatlt]

More than iMessage, WhatsApp competitors are Hangouts (or whatever Google decides for the year), Telegram, Viber and so many other truly cross platform messaging apps. So everyone saying I use iMessage anyway, this isn't to get you to convert.

I keep iMessage turned off on my Mac and iPad since I use Android and using iMessage would just make everything break in terms of cross platform syncing. That's why Telegram, WhatsApp and Hangouts are preferred. All have web clients and Telegram has native software for OS X and Windows.

WhatsApp has a terrible web client. You must have your phone near you at all times and the phone must be connected to the Internet at all times otherwise it wouldn't work. You even need your phone to authorise the log in every time.

Facebook Messenger has all the Whatsapp features and more...and best of all you no longer need a Facebook account to use it...and you can actually use its web client without a phone next to you.

It's just surprising why Facebook has two services that does the same thing.

 

[Blujelly]

Just imagine if apple released an iMessage app for android. What'sapp would have to pay us to keep using it. I'd be more into what's app if I could use it on a mac. still so much easier to type on a physical keyboard.

haha good point!

Ever since iMessage added detail from Whatsapp, groups, group name changes, share location, the whole audio files and what not I've preferred using it.

To be honest I've always used it over Whats App I don't really know why I have it.....

 

[usamaah]

Just imagine if apple released an iMessage app for android. What'sapp would have to pay us to keep using it. I'd be more into what's app if I could use it on a mac. still so much easier to type on a physical keyboard.

You can, your phone just needs an internet connection since the database of messages sits on your phone encrypted, not in the cloud like every other service (iMessage, Hangouts, Telegram). It has its strengths and its weaknesses. You just needs a browser and your phone for the setup, then you can leave the phone aside.

It would be great if iMessage was released but I'd still favor true multiplatform so Windows Phone, BlackBerry, Windows, etc.

 

[OldSchoolMacGuy]

Because your personal data is worth more, join us for free! -WhatsApp

Spot on. It makes them MUCH more money by indexing your conversations and personal data than to charge a tiny monthly/yearly fee for the service. Google has shown this again and again. The information they get from Gmail by going through and indexing all your conversation, is worth far more money than charging $20/month for the service.

 

[Manatlt]

You can, your phone just needs an internet connection since the database of messages sits on your phone encrypted, not in the cloud like every other service (iMessage, Hangouts, Telegram). It has its strengths and its weaknesses. You just needs a browser and your phone for the setup, then you can leave the phone aside.

It would be great if iMessage was released but I'd still favor true multiplatform so Windows Phone, BlackBerry, Windows, etc.

iMessage doesn't keep the messages in the cloud. That's why iMessage doesn't have a web client.