WhatsApp is one of the most popular messaging apps which is being used by billions of people, the Facebook owned messaging app is now ditching its annual subscription fee which was $0.99 after the first year of free service. For some regions, the service was extended without any Subscription fee even after one year, so this news might not make much of a difference to them.
The main reason behind this step was explained by WhatsApp CEO Jan Koum at a conference in Germany. Many users who did not have access to credit cards or Debit cards were not able to renew their subscriptions even if they wanted to pay the nominal subscription fee. The $0.99 per year subscription fee will now be removed in the next few weeks.
With many college going students and teenagers being the main user base of WhatsApp, the lack of access to Credit or Debit cards is leading them to go for other alternatives. Along with the removal of Subscription Fee, the company is planning to introduce other services as well. WhatsApp plans to introduce a service for businesses to chat directly to customers, this can include your bank, local business establishment, airline etc informing you about any changes or updates.
This update seems to be inspired from the parent company Facebook, it was announced earlier that Facebook Messenger app will be giving a service called business-to-customer, where the business establishment can directly access the customer. This service looks more practical with WhatsApp as the user will be connected through their mobile number. Koum also mentioned that the company is close to encrypting all the messages on WhatsApp leading to more privacy, this might be completed in the coming months.
