Don't Get Too Excited About WhatsApp Plus: The 'Exclusive' Features Aren't Worth the Money

WhatsApp Plus: A WhatsApp Plus subscription, offering extra features, is coming soon to the messaging platform. If you are eagerly awaiting its arrival, the features included might leave you disappointed.

WhatsApp Plus: The rollout of WhatsApp Plus—a paid subscription service for the messaging platform—has officially begun. It has already been launched for iPhone users in several regions. Beta testing is currently underway on Android, meaning it will soon be made available to Android users as well. If you are anticipating this subscription plan, be warned: most of the features it offers are likely to disappoint you. In fact, the pricing does not seem to justify the features provided. Although the service is still in its very early stages, it currently offers nothing compelling enough to convince users in a price-sensitive market like India to pay for it.

WhatsApp Plus Subscription Rolls Out with These Features

WhatsApp Plus has currently been rolled out only to select regions in Europe, where it is priced at approximately ₹280 per month. At present, most of the included features are cosmetic in nature and do not address any specific, critical user needs. The plan has launched with features such as custom themes and app icons, the ability to pin up to 20 chats simultaneously, premium ringtones, chat list customization, and premium stickers with special effects. Aside from the ability to pin 20 chats, the remaining features are unlikely to have any significant impact on the user experience. Paying for a subscription solely for the ability to pin more chats is, by any standard, not a worthwhile investment.

More Features May Be Added in the Future

Currently, this plan has been rolled out primarily to gather user feedback. Once it becomes available to a wider user base, new features may be added to the service. Furthermore, for major markets like India, the pricing could potentially be lowered. Nevertheless, WhatsApp's core functionalities—such as chatting, voice and video calling, and file sharing—will remain free of charge. Consequently, selling a paid subscription to users in India could prove to be a significant challenge for the company. WhatsApp Has Introduced Subscriptions Before

WhatsApp is not contemplating the introduction of subscriptions for the first time. Between 2013 and 2016, WhatsApp could be used for free for only one year. From the second year onwards, users were required to pay a fee of approximately one dollar per year. Although this amount was quite nominal, it made it difficult for the company to maintain its user base and acquire new users in several countries. Recognizing this issue, the company decided to remove the fee. The result of this decision is that, today, billions of people across the globe use the platform.