These days the word “message” has been replaced by “Whatsapp” with more then 600 million active users, it is the most used Instant messaging service available. Acquired by Facebook for a mind boggling $19 billion dollars many users don’t know that while the App is free on the Play Store, App Store and Windows Phone store it isn’t actually free, but in a recent interview with Re/code the CEO of WhatsApp Jan Koum said it could become free in the future.
Is Whatsapp free? how much does it cost?
Like mentioned previously, No Whatsapp isn’t free. The service charges users $0.99 a year for letting them send unlimited messages, photos and videos to friends. If you are wondering about your status, you can check it by going to Settings > Account > Payment Info. Currently, Whatsapp does allow new users to use their service for free for up to a year. In the Payment Info window you can see when it will be the next time you are charged the $0.99.
Will the service become available for free?
It is important to note that the original reason for Whatsapp to introduce the yearly $0.99 fee is to be able to pay the bills but in an interview with Re/Code, the CEO of Whatsapp confirmed that things might change now that they have the financial support from Facebook, which acquired the service earlier this year.
Jan Koum made it very clear that WhatsApp is currently all about user growth and not generating revenue, in order to increase the growth even further and possible hit 1 billion user mark in the next couple of years, the service could be made available for free.
