WhatsApp is currently trialling a new subscription model, akin to offerings from platforms like Instagram and Snapchat, named WhatsApp Plus. This paid tier allows users to enhance their app experience with personalised icons, themes, ringtones, and other aesthetic features, although it does not provide significant functional enhancements.
Widespread reports of WhatsApp Plus have emerged, with notable mentions from social media expert Matt Navarra. Confirming the test, a spokesperson for Meta, WhatsApp’s parent company, stated that the subscription is aimed at users who wish for more ways to customise and organise their chats. Premium features being trialled include expanded options for pinned chats, custom chat themes, and lists. The test is currently limited to select users, aimed at gathering feedback to refine the offering.
While the pricing structure has yet to be officially announced, reports suggest it may cost around €2.49 per month in Europe and approximately 229 PKR (around $0.82) in Pakistan. Users will reportedly receive a one-month free trial as part of the new plan. Key enhancements include the ability to pin up to 20 chats compared to the current limit of three, as well as the option to apply different themes and notification tones, but notably, there remains no option for ad removal from the Status feature.
WhatsApp previously experimented with charging a subscription fee of $1 in certain markets over a decade ago. However, after Facebook’s acquisition in 2016, this fee was eliminated, shifting WhatsApp’s business model to facilitate interactions between companies and users via messaging, including the creation of click-to-WhatsApp adverts.
This transition has proven lucrative for Meta, with the company reporting a remarkable 54% year-on-year increase in revenue from its suite of apps during the Q4 2025 earnings call, reaching $801 million. A large portion of this growth was attributed to paid messaging services on WhatsApp, leading to an impressive annualised run-rate exceeding $2 billion.
Since WhatsApp Plus is still in the initial testing phase and is only available to a limited audience within WhatsApp’s vast user base of over 3 billion, its immediate impact on Meta’s financial performance is expected to be minimal.
Fanpage: TechArena.au
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