From CNET: If a dollar saved is a dollar earned, WhatsApp users can make themselves a quick buck in 2016.
The popular messaging app on Monday killed its $1 subscription fee, which converts to 70p or AU$1.45, making its service free to all users globally. In the past WhatsApp has been free to use for the first year, following which the nominal fee has been charged on annual basis. But no more.
"As we've grown, we've found that this approach hasn't worked well," the company explained in a blog post. "Many WhatsApp users don't have a debit or credit card number and they worried they'd lose access to their friends and family after their first year."
WhatsApp is one of several messaging apps, along with the likes of Viber, WeChat and Line, that flourished in the wake of 3G Internet access becoming almost ubiquitous. After it was bought by Facebook in 2014 for $19 billion, the service continued to grow, and with 900 million users worldwide it currently leads the pack.
Its next challenge will be to keep up with its competitors, which are starting to integrate third-party services into their apps, particularly banking and money transfer. This could ultimately open up new revenue streams for WhatsApp, although these third-party business partnerships are uncharted territory for messaging apps.
View: Article @ Source Site
