At last, WhatsApp is now completely free

WhatsApp: now free for all.

Update: WhatsApp issued a push notification to many, if not all, Android app users this morning, migrating the service to a lifetime subscription. A number of users reported a subsequent push notification that announced a rollback to the previous subscription.

I did not receive the second notification from WhatsApp, and I remain on a lifetime subscription, but it seems a large number of users did see their lifetime subscription rescinded. If you were unfortunate enough to be rolled back, we can only presume that it's a temporary error or a solution to a problem that WhatsApp is working on fixing. We'll let you know more as soon as we find out. 

WhatsApp has, for some time now, charged users US$0.99 a year after the first year of use. The sum is small and many long-standing users were made exempt even from this charge, but now WhatsApp is dropping the fee entirely.

The change may take a few weeks to take effect across different versions of the app, and users who incur fees in the meantime unfortunately have no choice but to pay.

In a blog post, WhatsApp said that the reason for the move stemmed from concern for users who don't have access to a credit or debit card, or who have one but lack the funds at the time of the fee being requested, losing access to the service. 

The move makes WhatsApp more competitive.

With nearly a billion users globally, the revenue that WhatsApp can expect from even a small annual subscription fee is significant. To cover this loss, WhatsApp plans to charge businesses to contact its users directly, so long as users opt in.

If you already use WhatsApp, how do you feel about the decision? If you don't, are you now more likely to give it a try? Share your views in the comments.