Although many of us have forgotten it, there was a time when WhatsApp was paid. On iOS you had to buy the app once to use it indefinitely, and on Android, after the trial period, you had to pay an annual subscription. Diazepam After the purchase of the program by Facebook, the subscription was removed, and we all could use the program without having to pay (we already pay enough with our personal data). However, it seems that Meta has plans for us to pay to use WhatsApp again. And, a few hours ago, some users have already started to see a new modality “premium”.
whatsapppremium It is not a new concept, but Meta already presented it last May. Is paid version seeks to improve the user experience of whatsapp businessimproving some of the features designed for businesses so that they can take better advantage of the messaging platform to reach more people.
Some of the functions that we find in this new payment method are:
- Advanced features to better reach the company’s customers. This subscription allows us to create a personalized URL so that users can access it and start a conversation with the company. We may change this URL once every 90 days, and if we stop paying for the subscription, the URL is lost.
- Improvements when linking new devices to use the account. Each account can have a total of 10 devices so that it is easier to manage conversations with them.
All the other functions that were available in WhatsApp Business for free are still available to all users without having to pay, so in that sense there are no problems or coercion for users to checkout.
Availability of the paid version of WhatsApp
For now, Meta has only activated this functionality for some users who use the development versions of WhatsApp. Therefore, if we have a company WhatsApp account and we want to start testing this subscription, the first thing we have to do is download the “beta” app from the Android Play Store or from TestFlight on iOS. The subscription can be found within the WhatsApp settings, as long as we are one of the users selected to test it. Otherwise, we will have to wait even longer.
In addition, although at the moment the “Premium” mode of WhatsApp only has these two functionalities, it is very likely that in the not too distant future we will see new features, useful for companies, that encourage them to pay. What seems certain, at least for now, is that all the WhatsApp Business features that are now free will remain free.
What we also do not know, for now, is the price of the service. We’ll have to wait a bit longer before we can find out how much these two features cost for Meta, and whether companies will actually be interested in paying the cash for what they offer.
If we do not use WhatsApp Business, we can rest easy. WhatsApp will remain free just as it has been so far. And there are no future plans to launch a premium mode for the general public.
