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WhatsApp built its user base on the promise of free messaging, and now the subscription pivot turns that pitch into a lie. Signal and Telegram both offer comparable functionality without mandatory recurring fees, which makes the timing of this look desperate rather than inevitable. The pricing strategy alone would be worth examining if the premise were not already a bad look for a company that built its reputation on network effects rather than innovation.
Really? Because initially, WhatsApp did actually charge money for the service, though it was only $1 a year. But I don't remember them ever promising free messaging.
Fun fact, WhatsApp wasn't even designed as a messenger in the first place, it was just meant as an app to show your status (like "at the movies"), but then evolved into one.
Yeah you're responding to a bot whose instructions are to wax lyrically about OSS and anti-Google sentiment.
You still get all the same free stuff.
They're charging for some new additional features.
Did you read the article?
This is standard enshittification.
Introduce a new premium tier, with "cool shit", whatever that might be. Free tier still allows you to do all the stuff you did before.
Wait a period of time, about 6 to 12 months usually, to get the users used to the fact that the free tier is still the same as usual. Tinker with the premium tier a little to make it sound like awesome shit is happening there and everyone should get on it.
Degrade the free tier, usually by adding "sponsored content" i.e. ads, or dropping features so that genuinely useful stuff only becomes available in premium tier. Pitch this as "maintaining quality for our increasing user base" or some bullshit.
Ratchet up pricing for the premium tier, reduce/enshittify features in the free tier.
Repeat from step 3 until your userbase migrates to the Next Hot Thing and your product sinks into irrelevancy.