14 DAY TRIAL // WhatsApp has just announced that its messaging service will be free going forward. Even though not all WhatsApp users paid the $1 per year fee in the past, the company announced that it would no longer charge subscription fees.
We're not sure on what grounds some WhatsApp users have been asked to pay after the first year of use, but the company admitted that this business model did not work that well since many users don't have a credit or debit card that they could use to pay for the messaging service.
“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,” said the company in a blog post.
WhatsApp also confirmed that in the next several weeks it would remove fees from the different versions of its application so that it would no longer charge users for the messaging service.
WhatsApp assures users it will not introduce third-party apps
Obviously, one would wonder whether or not WhatsApp plans to bring ads to the free version of the instant messenger. WhatsApp users will be pleased to know that the company has no intention of introducing third-party ads.
However, WhatsApp has announced that it's now testing some tools that will allow users to communicate with businesses and organizations that they would want to hear from.
For example, users will be able to communicate with their 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,” added WhatsApp.