A new one of the news of “WhatsApp is paid”, which is traditionally shared every year, has been on the agenda recently. Some news sites misinterpreted Mark Zuckerberg’s statement, creating a small-scale outrage in the internet world.
There were sharp statements such as “Zuckerberg announced that he will make WhatsApp for a fee” in the news that reached large audiences, especially with the headlines to chase clicks. But that was not the point of course.
One of those news on the internet:
Some took the news seriously, others mocked:
Let’s take a look at what Zuckerberg had to say in his statement:
Mark Zuckerberg addressed his misunderstood statements at his meeting last Thursday. Meeting with his employees after the dismissal of more than 11 thousand employees, Zuckerberg talked about the metaverse and the company’s sales. His explanation was as follows:
“We talk a lot about very long-term opportunities like the Metaverse, but the truth is, business messaging will likely be the next pillar of our business as we work to make more money from WhatsApp and Messenger.”
The point that was misrepresented in Zuckerberg’s statement was actually the key pattern here: business messaging. Zuckerberg didn’t make any statements about the personal messaging services we all use, WhatsApp and Messenger. This was a valid statement for the services provided by WhatsApp Business and Messenger to businesses.
To summarize Zuckerberg’s statement briefly: It was pointed out that the business use of WhatsApp and Messenger will bring more profit to the company than the metaverse.
On the other hand, a statement such as ‘a monthly fee of 1 dollar’ in the news has no basis.
So there is no such possibility? Let’s shed a superficial light on the past and the present:
When WhatsApp first came out and joined Facebook (Meta), it was actually a paid application. Users could use the app for free for one year, after which they paid an extra dollar for each year.
This paid system was abolished in June 2016. Sharing a blog post at that time, the company announced that they found that the paid system ‘does not work very well’, and that many WhatsApp users do not have a credit card.
WhatsApp had around one billion monthly active users when it said goodbye to the paid system. This number is now over two billion.
Subjecting a platform with so many users to a monthly or annual fee can cause a huge decrease in the number of users. As this will lead to the decline of existing WhatsApp Business businesses, Meta will naturally lose both money and reputation.
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