Categories: Mobile AppsMobility

WhatsApp Scraps Annual Subscription Fees

Facebook-owned messaging service WhatsApp will be scrapping its annual subscription fee in an attempt to sign up more users.

Speaking at the Digital Life Design conference in Munich, Recode cited WhatsApp founder Jan Koum as saying the annual fee “really doesn’t work that well”.

“We just don’t want people to think at some point their communication to the world will be cut off,” he said.

WhatApp, until today, has been a free service for the first 12 months, and then 99 cents or pence per year after that.

‘Useful’

But WhatsApp’s new business model will help the service become “more useful” according to a company blog post today.

“…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,” said the blog.

WhatsApp quelled fears of the inclusion of third-party advertising now that it is free.

“Naturally, people might wonder how we plan to keep WhatsApp running without subscription fees and if today’s announcement means we’re introducing third-party ads. The answer is no,” said the company.

Instead, WhatsApp wants its users to communicate with exactly who they want to hear from.

“That could mean communicating with your bank about whether a recent transaction was fraudulent, or with an airline about a delayed flight. We all get these messages elsewhere today – through text messages and phone calls – so we want to test new tools to make this easier to do on WhatsApp, while still giving you an experience without third-party ads and spam,” said WhatsApp.

WhatsApp was acquired by Facebook in 2014 for $19 billion, and according to Koum, the service has more than 900 million monthly active users as of September 2015.

WhatsApp’s new strategy echoes that of Facebook’s Messenger platform, where users can chat with businesses on the standalone chat app.

“Nearly a billion people around the world today rely on WhatsApp to stay in touch with their friends and family,” said WhatsApp today on its blog post.

“From a new dad in Indonesia sharing photos with his family, to a student in Spain checking in with her friends back home, to a doctor in Brazil keeping in touch with her patients, people rely on WhatsApp to be fast, simple and reliable.”

Take our CES 2016 quiz here!

Ben Sullivan

Ben covers web and technology giants such as Google, Amazon, and Microsoft and their impact on the cloud computing industry, whilst also writing about data centre players and their increasing importance in Europe. He also covers future technologies such as drones, aerospace, science, and the effect of technology on the environment.

Recent Posts

Is the Digital Transformation of Businesses Complete?

Digital transformation is an ongoing journey, requiring continuous adaptation, strong leadership, and skilled talent to…

16 hours ago

Craig Wright Faces Contempt Claim Over Bitcoin Lawsuit

Australian computer scientist faces contempt-of-court claim after suing Jack Dorsey's Block and Bitcoin Core developers…

16 hours ago

OpenAI Adds ChatGPT Search Features

OpenAI's ChatGPT gets search features, putting it in direct competition with Microsoft and Google, amidst…

17 hours ago

Google Maps Steers Into Local Information With AI Chat

New Google Maps allows users to ask for detailed information on local spots, adds AI-summarised…

17 hours ago

Huawei Sees Sales Surge, But Profits Fall

US-sanctioned Huawei sees sales surge in first three quarters of 2024 on domestic smartphone popularity,…

18 hours ago

Apple Posts China Sales Decline, Ramping Pressure On AI Strategy

Apple posts slight decline in China sales for fourth quarter, as Tim Cook negotiates to…

18 hours ago