If you’re very young, you probably don’t remember, but there was a time when WhatsApp was paid. Long before paying for subscriptions like Netflix, Game Pass or Disney+, if you wanted to use WhatsApp you had two options: either pay 1 euro a year to use this service, or buy the app in the Apple App Store, if we had an iPhone, and use it. always free. Those responsible for the service finally decided to make the app free. And, later, after the purchase of the company by Facebook (now Meta), this was maintained. But this is coming to an end.
These are not good times for Meta. Zuckerberg’s push for the metaverse, and his failure, has lost the company billions of dollars. Of course, the CEO of Facebook is not willing to take the loss and go ahead with new projects that will make him recover the investment, but rather he is going to take advantage of the success of his most popular service, WhatsApp, to get money from his users.
This is how the new paid WhatsApp looks like, which could very soon reach all users.
WhatsApp Business will soon receive a subscription
Although rumors had already been heard that this possibility of a paid WhatsApp would arrive, now it has been Mark Zuckerberg himself who has confirmed it in a new interview. As indicated by the CEO of Meta, they are already working on a new payment method for the business version of WhatsApp. Even users signed up for the WhatsApp beta can already see this new subscription plan.
At the moment, not many more details are known about this new paid WhatsApp for companies, nor what features it will have to encourage payment or how much it will cost.
Could WhatsApp cost money again?
Although at the moment all that is known is that the WhatsApp business plan is going to start monetizing, since it is where they can really offer added value, it would not be crazy to think that some type of subscription would reach users. Surely WhatsApp will not stop being free, and anyone who wants to use it without paying will be able to do so. But, will we have all the features available?
We have already seen that other similar platforms, such as Telegram or Twitter, have begun to bet on offering users subscription payment methods. This does not prevent those who do not want to pay from using the applications, but it does offer added value to those who do go through the checkout.
For example, WhatsApp could perfectly limit the number of groups or chats open at the same time, or the number of devices that can use WhatsApp Web. Other functions that could be interesting to pay for is the possibility of using WhatsApp on two devices at the same time, or unlimited cloud synchronization for chats, photos and videos.
We will have to wait and see what 2023 brings us, but, without a doubt, it will be a year full of surprises and great changes in the world of tech. And unfortunately, many of these changes are not going to be for the better.
