WhatsApp scraps subscription fees, commits to ad-free app

WhatsApp has announced that its app will be completely free, scrapping its annual subscription fee.

The app was free for the first year, and then users were charged a $0.99 (£0.69p) fee every year following.

However the Facebook-owned communications app company said in a blog post that won’t be the case any longer, and will pull the subscription model from its apps over the coming weeks.

“As we've grown, we've found that this approach hasn't worked well,” it said.

“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.”

However, the company has outlined plans on how it intends to make money, ruling out an ad-supported platform – a stance it has constantly stood firm on.

WhatsApp said it will look at tools to allow businesses and organisations to communicate with users.

“That could mean communicating with your bank about whether a recent transaction was fraudulent, or with an airline about a delayed flight.

“We all get these messages elsewhere today – through text messages and phone calls – so we want to test new tools to make this easier to do on WhatsApp, while still giving you an experience without third-party ads and spam.”

It’s not the first time the company has tweaked its business model.

Up until August 2013, Apple users had to pay $0.99 to download the app but wouldn’t have subscription fees, while Android users could download it for free but have to pay the subscription fee after the first year.