For some time there, Whatsapp was charging users 69p/90c to download the app but that has officially been scrapped.
The app’s founder, Jan Koum revealed the change today at a conference in Berlin and now, people are wondering if Whatsapp will introduce adverts.
When asked about this possibility, the company said that they wouldn’t show adverts per say but that they would ‘communicate’ with users of the app.
An excerpt from the blog post regarding the change reads: “Starting this year, we will test tools that allow you to use WhatsApp to communicate with businesses and organizations that you want to hear from.
“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 sounds a little bit complicated and we’re not sure what to make of the change as of yet.
During its first year, Whatsapp was free and from then onwards, users had to pay a minimal fee to download it.
