WhatsApp Free Forever: Within a few weeks nothing more annual fee

WhatsApp announced the cut of the annual fee of 99 cents for the usage of the popular instant messaging service. A measure motivated by the desire to further expand the installed base.

WhatsApp is the instant messaging service controlled by Facebook, the most popular worldwide, according to recent statistics there are more than 900 million active users detected on a monthly basis. The service providers offer access to, via mobile and web devices against the payment of an annual fee that can be described as derisory, but still present.

WhatsApp can be used free of charge for the first year, but from the second, you will have to pay the sum of 99 cents. The mechanism described above is about to change.

The founder of WhatsApp, Jan Koum, confirmed at the DLD conference in Monaco the decision to take down the entire cost of the service, effectively eliminating the annual fee. The reasons are related to the need to give priority to a further expansion of WhatsApp, although the installed base, as mentioned, is already significantly extended.

Give up the revenue from the annual fee it would be offset by the possibility of making greater inroads into markets such as the emerging countries, where the use of electronic means of payment and credit cards is not yet as widespread. Although content, the price of 99 cents per year, can be an obstacle in virtue of the means necessary to make the payment.

Official announcement, the WhatsApp team confirms that the measure will enter into force in the coming weeks and will cover the different versions of the app available for major mobile platforms.

The WhatsApp decision not dissolve the whole knot of how to monetize the service. Facebook monetize its user base through the sale of advertising space, but it is a mechanism that is ill-suited to an instant messaging client; alternatives to WhatsApp equally valid there, think of Telegram Messenger, and ail the more or less invasive users with advertising may be a risky choice.

The WhatsApp team confirms explicitly the will not introduce advertising alerts. The proposal from WhatsApp recipe to cover loss of earnings goes to new communication tools through which users can interact with companies (eg. With your bank) and organizations. The project, however, is still in its infancy.