WhatsApp To Extend Subscription Model To iOS This Year!

WhatsApp has infact gained a lot of users and proved to be successful! But seems like this popular cross-platform messaging service is shifting its iOS app from a flat-fee purchase to a $0.99 annual subscription model sometime this year.

TechCrunch reports that the subscription model would apply to new users. Jan Koum, WhatsApp CEO said, that the pricing structure will be similar as it is in other apps – free for the first year and then cost $1/year, compared to the single, for-life $0.99 purchase that users make on iOS today.

Also there are early signs that WhatsApp is already making the necessary changes to the Ui to renew a subscription on an iPhone.

Some other details from Koum’s interview:

–  A desktop version of WhatsApp service is not coming any time soon.

–  Live streaming video to WhatsApp is “definitely not this year,”

– No comment on acquisition rumors but a wider statement on exit strategies. “We don’t discuss exit strategies internally,” Koum said.

–  Dates for subscription model for WhatsApp, “We’re relaxed on dates, but definitely this year. It’s on the road map,” Koum said.

For more updates keep reading Techglimpse!