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Whatsapp was asking for $1/year [1] [1] https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/jan/18/whatsapp-drops-subscription-fee-free https://www.theguardian.com/tec

• lxgr 3y ago
  I've been using WhatsApp when the nominal $1/year fee was still around, but somehow never ended up being actually charged, and I don't know anyone that did. It's possible that they were only enforcing it in some regions, though.
  • abdullahkhalids 3y ago
    Indeed. I just ignored the dialog box the first time it popped up. But next year I paid. It was quite a big deal because back then it was equal to my entire monthly cellphone bill in Pakistan. But I remember other people started to en masse switch to other messengers like Viber(?). And Whatsapp had to stop enforcing the fee.
    • fwn 3y ago
      I was billed 0,99€ (Germany) exactly once, but was able to use WhatsApp without payment for most of the time just by ignoring the notification. I remember that they repeatedly gave grace periods and just set another payment date a few weeks later.
• renewiltord 3y ago
  The price changed a few times but they definitely had a lifetime thing once. All pricing was entirely optional Here's one reference to a different price (can't find lifetime except for people complaining that Facebook didn't honor it on original ToS) https://www.wired.com/2011/11/whatsapp-messenger-app/ https://www.wired.com/2011/11/whatsapp-messenger-app/