WhatsApp is now testing its subscription service, here's what you get and how much it costs

21 April 2026
It's currently available to a very limited number of users, but will expand in the future.


Can't wait to pay for even more subscriptions, then I will be a perfect G0yim

    ElectroniCast, 21 Apr 2026Capitalism at its bestWhat's inevitable is that they will loose customers by doing this

      Carol-, 21 Apr 2026After collecting users’ phone numbers, their contacts, and ... moreAnd these garage stories are also fake, you know Jeff Bezos? Everyone thinks he started amazon from his garage right? Wrong. His parents gave him a 100k to start his business, then some other people gave him a few mill to further develop and he used that money to buy out all other small businesses around him and that's how we got Amazon

        MRA, 21 Apr 2026Not too long from now, there will be advertisements surely ... moreThat platform is signal, I got you bro

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          • Hugo
          • fCI
          • 21 Apr 2026

          I would pay to keep zuck out

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            • Anonymous
            • LiP
            • 21 Apr 2026

            TrainingAddict, 21 Apr 2026It's good that the paid functions are so trivial, so y... moreI hope you do understand that this is just for now. As time goes, they will restrict more and more free features in favor of paid plan. Then they'll introduce more paid plans and so on. This is standard in the industry, and it's called enshittification.

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              • Nue
              • 21 Apr 2026

              "WhatsApp hasn't removed any core features and added them to the paid plan - all of the Plus features are new."

              So.. Basically, we have to pay for new futures onwards that use to be normal updates? Got it.

                These features were already present in the modified Whatsapp apps that were cut by Meta, by banning user accounts who used such apps.
                But considering how they steal our data in ways we can't understand, I guess stealing an idea is ok, if a corporation does it.

                What used to be spyware and trojanware in the 90's and 2000's, are many of the mega IT
                corporations today, but managing it very well with money and marketing power. They even steal a lot of our data through means inperceptible to the common public.

                Anyhow, can the paid plan grant me privacy, or internal delinking from Facebook and insta?

                  That's around, ~$25 yearly? Waaay overpriced compared to $1 per year when WhatsApp was initially launched and before bought by meta.

                    ElectroniCast, 21 Apr 2026Tbh telegraph also charges you for some basic stuff It's good that the paid functions are so trivial, so you won't have to worry about losing anything

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                      • 21 Apr 2026

                      DBS, 21 Apr 2026Charging for themes, something Telegram lets you create for... moreEven Android Gingerbread was more optimized for AMOLEDs, lol.

                        DBS, 21 Apr 2026Charging for themes, something Telegram lets you create for... moreTbh telegraph also charges you for some basic stuff

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                          • Anonymous
                          • t1Z
                          • 21 Apr 2026

                          Seems they broke their promise

                            NikojS, 21 Apr 2026It’s inevitable that eventually it will require a subscript... moreCapitalism at its best

                              After collecting users’ phone numbers, their contacts, and mapping out social connections, often tying everything back to Facebook identities, they’ve already trashed users privacy. And now they want to charge money on top of that?

                              They’ve probably reached market saturation, and the revenue from harvesting data from new users is no longer enough to sustain their Datacenters (ahem harvesting centers) or satisfy shareholders pockets.

                              I’ve never been a fan of “free” software from corporations that got from garage kids to Huge blocks, like Google or Meta. When a product is free to use, the obvious question is: where do their billions in revenue actually come from? It’s something every average user should think about.

                              In my view, it would have been more honest if they had charged users from the beginning instead of monetizing personal data so aggressively. At least then the business model would have been transparent, rather than exploitative. As it stands, it's pretty shameless from them to even dare. They are not Telegram and will never be.

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                                • DBS
                                • psj
                                • 21 Apr 2026

                                Charging for themes, something Telegram lets you create for free.
                                Typical Facebook company.
                                And I bet you can't even get a proper Dark Theme - which uses black - even with the subscription.

                                  2,49 € per month for a bit of customisation we had 15 years ago with WhatsApp Plus? 🤯 They're insane. Gotta fund the AI bubble or what?

                                  No better time to switch to one of the alternatives, e.g.:
                                  https://threema.com/en/products/private

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                                    • Anonymous
                                    • 7s5
                                    • 21 Apr 2026

                                    SMS be cool another choice of app

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                                      • kdss
                                      • 0BG
                                      • 21 Apr 2026

                                      You get the same, they get money.

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                                        • MRA
                                        • sEB
                                        • 21 Apr 2026

                                        Not too long from now, there will be advertisements surely and when it comes, it is time to move on to another platform.

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