WhatsApp went from charging users $0.99 a year to being completely free in 2016. Now it looks like the app might start charging again, but this time for a different reason. According to code found in WhatsApp version 2.26.3.9 by Android Authority, Meta’s testing a WhatsApp subscription that removes ads from Status and Channels.
The strings discovered in the app reference pricing changes tied to whether you’ve connected WhatsApp to Meta’s Accounts Center. One message reads: “Since you recently removed your WhatsApp account from your Accounts Center, the price of your subscription for no ads in Status & Channels has decreased.” Another mentions accepting a new monthly price or choosing to “use Status & Channels free of charge with ads.”
This marks a pretty dramatic shift from WhatsApp’s original promise. When the app first launched in 2009, iPhone users paid $0.99 upfront for lifetime access. In July 2013, WhatsApp switched everyone to a free first year, then $0.99 annually. Early adopters who already paid got grandfathered in. Then in January 2016, WhatsApp dropped all fees entirely, partly because many users in developing markets didn’t have credit cards.
Meta Started Testing Ads Last Year
WhatsApp began rolling out ads in Status and Channels in mid-2024, which immediately annoyed users. The ads appear only in the Updates tab, not in your personal messages or group chats. Meta uses limited info like your country, language, and channels you follow to target these ads. If you’ve linked WhatsApp to your Facebook or Instagram, the ads get even more personalized.
Right now, there’s no official way to remove these ads. Some users resort to workarounds like VPNs or using WhatsApp’s desktop version, but those are temporary fixes. A paid WhatsApp subscription would give users an official option to clean up their experience.
What we don’t know yet is pricing or which countries will get access. Meta already restricts its ad-free subscriptions for Facebook and Instagram to certain regions. The same limitations could apply here. The bigger question is whether users will pay after getting used to a completely free experience for nearly a decade. But with Meta pushing ads harder across all its platforms, this might be users’ only choice: deal with ads or pay up.
