Prepare to save a whole $1 every single year. WhatsApp has announced that it’s dropping its annual subscription fee.
Right now, WhatsApp is free for a year. After that, you’re charged $1 each year for using the service. But Re/code reports from a conference in Munich, Germany, that it’s scrapping the fee. WhatsApp founder Jan Koum reportedly explained at the event that the charging system “really doesn’t work that well.”
WhatsApp apparently has no plans to introduce ads to recoup its lost dollar payments. Instead, it plans to find new ways to connect its users with businesses and organizations, which it’ll be able to make money from. So, you could use the app to speak to your bank, order a taxi, or find out about a flight delay, say.
If that sounds at all familiar, it’s because Facebook—which owns WhatsApp—is doing something very similar with its Messenger app.
WhatsApp will stop charging its subscription fees immediately.
[Re/code]
Image by Jan Persiel under Creative Commons license
