Before Meta bought WhatsApp, the messaging app used to charge users roughly USD1 per year, but it also offered a free tier. It seems WhatsApp is bringing that subscription back, but this time, it is going to be a monthly premium subscription.
According to WABetaInfo, this new plan is set to be called WhatsApp Plus. It sounds like it is mostly aimed at people who love a bit of personalisation, offering a bunch of extra customisation options. We are talking about the ability to swap out the app theme, change the icon, and play around with accent colours. Apparently, there will be fourteen new icons and a variety of different colour palettes for the interface elements.
Beyond just looking pretty, there are a few practical perks tucked in there too. The biggest one is likely the ability to pin up to twenty chats, which is a massive jump from the current limit of just three. You will also reportedly get some exclusive subscriber-only ringtones, and there is a good chance more features will be added down the line.
There is no news regarding the official launch date or exactly how many much it will cost per month, but the expectation is that it will roll out on both iOS and Android. It is a bit of a shift for an app that has been free for so long, so it will be interesting to see if people actually bite.