Will WhatsApp's Free Service Comes With Strings Attached?
After WhatsApp recently announced its free service, questions about its possible complications came just in time for the popular app to address such queries. According to NeuroGadget, the former one-year subscription amounting to $0.99 significantly removed the appearance of ads on WhatsApp.
That being said, the possibility of such ads will return, but the founder of WhatsApp was quick to announce that the ads will still be removed. However, there will be other forms of marketing that will be integrated with the app in order for it to gain revenue.
In the announcement made on the WhatsApp blog, the company explained the context of maintaining the app despite the removal of its ads. The company said, "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."
These businesses and organizations that WhatsApp is trying to sell come in the form of banks, airlines and other institutions that users can relate to. Communications can range from queries on bank transactions to confirmation of flights.
During the Technology Conference in Boston, Facebook Chief Financial Officer David Wehner implied that the company is considering venturing on the business to consumers (B2C) partnership. NeuroGadget says that companies, who will be charged for the times they perform survey, advisories and chats using WhatsApp.
WhatsApp's decision to keep the application free of charge came to light when they realized that they nearly have a billion users that rely on their services in order to connect to their loved ones. Realizing that not all of their customers have credit or debit cards, WhatsApp decided to waive the fees.
They also acknowledged the importance of communication, saying that they did not want their users to stop doing so just because they can't pay for the annual fee of the application.
According to NeuroGadget, WhatsApp co-founder Jan Koum made the initial announcement during the Digital-Life-Design Conference in Munich.
Currently, WhatsApp is downloadable in different platforms such as the Nokia series, Symbian, Android iOS, BlackBerry 10 and Tizen. With a staggering number of on billion users worldwide, WhatsApp delivers its users free text messaging, sharing of video and audio files as well as group chats.
Despite WhatsApp's latest announcement, users can still enjoy an ad-free WhatsApp without the insistent appearance of spam messages. With WhatsApp deciding to remove fees but capitalizing on multinational companies to earn revenue, the company strives to continue delivering an ad-free application that many users enjoy.
Subscribe to Latin Post!
Sign up for our free newsletter for the Latest coverage!
* This is a contributed article and this content does not necessarily represent the views of latinpost.com