
WhatsApp wants to charge you — but the features might make you laugh 🤑
Cliquez ici pour lire en français
For over a decade, WhatsApp has kept one simple promise: the essentials stay free. No intrusive ads creeping into your conversations, no subscription wall blocking you from sending a message. Just a clean, universal messaging app accessible to everyone. But Meta, WhatsApp’s parent company, now appears ready to change that — and frankly, it’s not entirely surprising.
What WABetaInfo found buried in the code 🔍
It was WABetaInfo, the go-to source for early WhatsApp intel, that first spotted the clues inside beta version 2.26.3.9 on Android. The project’s name? WhatsApp Plus. An optional subscription — and « optional » is doing a lot of work here — that would layer on top of the existing app without touching its core features.
According to the beta findings, the fundamentals — messages, calls, voice notes — would remain free for everyone. What WhatsApp Plus would unlock is a set of add-ons: interface customization, new color themes, 14 alternative app icons, exclusive ringtones to distinguish WhatsApp calls from other apps, custom stickers, and the ability to pin up to 20 conversations — up from just 3 today.
Honestly, is it worth it? 🤔
Let’s be real: the feature list is underwhelming. Swapping your app icon among 14 options, picking a new interface color, or unlocking exclusive stickers — none of that is going to make anyone reach for their credit card. The one genuinely useful addition is the expanded pinned chats. For anyone juggling dozens of family groups, work threads, or community channels, going from 3 to 20 pinned conversations is a real quality-of-life upgrade.
Meta has also teased « immersive reactions » for messages — but no one quite knows what that means yet. The details remain vague.
On pricing, WABetaInfo puts the figure at around €4 per month, with availability initially targeting Europe and the UK to comply with the Digital Markets Act. No launch date has been confirmed.
The question nobody’s asking yet 🌍
The real issue isn’t what WhatsApp Plus offers. It’s what Meta might eventually take away from the free tier. The playbook is familiar: roll out a feature for free, let users build habits around it, then quietly move it behind a paywall. It’s happened before — across platforms, across products.
The comparison to Telegram Premium isn’t flattering either. Telegram’s paid tier offers a significantly more compelling feature set, making WhatsApp Plus look like a thin effort by comparison.
What comes next? 🔭
WhatsApp Plus is still a work in progress — a concept caught in the app’s beta code, not a product on shelves. But it signals something bigger: every major free platform is hunting for a second revenue stream. The most pressing concern isn’t the subscription itself. It’s whether Meta will gradually strip features from the free version to push users toward paying.
For now, you can keep chatting, calling, and sharing without opening your wallet. But it’s worth watching what the next update quietly changes.
💬 Would you pay for a WhatsApp subscription — or do you think the app should stay completely free? Drop your take in the comments. We want to hear from you.
📱 Get our latest updates every day on WhatsApp, directly in the “Updates” tab by subscribing to our channel here ➡️ TechGriot WhatsApp Channel Link 😉





