Those who have been using WhatsApp for several years will remember that, at least initially, a small fee was charged for its activation. Until January 17, 2016, in fact, to use WhatsApp on Android (and other systems) you had to pay 0.89 cents after an initial trial period of one year.
A 3-year subscription can also be activated by paying 2.40 euros; or a 5-year-old for 3.34 euros. For Apple users, on the other hand, activation only involved a one-time payment of 1 euro. However, after that date, the app became free and accessible to anyone.
However, the situation is about to change again, as WhatsApp will soon introduce new payment services. In the next lines we will see what they will be and what impact they will have on the use of the application.
Following the release of new updates involving various features, WhatsApp has announced another big change. In fact, a few days ago, a statement appeared on the official blog, making the introduction of WhatsApp Premium official.
The most famous and used messaging application in the world will therefore be paid again. This, however, will not affect all users, but only those currently using WhatsApp Business.
WhatsApp Business, in a nutshell, is another version of the app that allows business owners to communicate faster and more effectively with customers. Unlike the “basic” version, the “business” version contains a few more features. Among them are, for example, the possibilities to send quick replies, welcome messages, absent messages; or publish a product catalog. In addition, there is also the possibility of creating a real company profile by entering:
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the direction of the company
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opening and closing times;
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the website;
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the email address;
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a brief description of the company.
To these functionalities, therefore, others (more advanced) will be added soon, which, however, will have to be paid for. For now, only two have been made official:
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the possibility of managing the chat on up to 10 devices, to improve and distribute the influx of messages;
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the introduction of new customizable “click to chat” links, which will help businesses attract more customers.
Therefore, those who use the business version, even if it is to have two mobile numbers on the same device, will have to be careful from now on because WhatsApp will be paid. However, details about costs, schedule and how to subscribe are still unclear. Therefore, we just have to wait for further developments and keep an eye on new updates.