WhatsApp on Monday announced that it would drop the annual subscription fee and allow people to use the service for free. Company founder Jan Koum announced the move at the DLD Conference in Munich. While more than 900 million people worldwide use WhatsApp to stay in touch with family and friends, the $1-a-year subscription fee could be a barrier to further growth, he said. The service was free for the first year, then $1 per year after that. That business model wasn’t working because many WhatsApp users don’t have a debit or credit card.
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WhatsApp Scraps Fee Model
Posted by: Peter Suciu January 18, 2016 12:23 PMWhatsApp on Monday announced that it would drop the annual subscription fee and allow people to use the service for free. Company founder Jan Koum announced the move at the DLD Conference in Munich. While more than 900 million people worldwide use WhatsApp to stay in touch with family and friends, the $1-a-year subscription fee could be a barrier to further growth, he said. The service was free for the first year, then $1 per year after that. That business model wasn’t working because many WhatsApp users don’t have a debit or credit card.