WhatsApp has announced that it will no longer charge users an annual subscription fee.
The messenger app, particularly popular in Europe, parts of Asia (including Hong Kong), and South America, has seen massive growth in recent years and is close to attaining a billion users.
WhatsApp used to charge US$0.99 per year (after a free 12 month trial period). The announcement, made official in a blog post on Monday 18 January 2016, means that WhatsApp, (or its parent company Facebook), is potentially forfeiting hundreds of millions in annual revenue.
WhatsApp stated that it will not seek revenue from third-party ads to supplement this drop in revenue.
Source:
Statista
