WhatsApp Tests a New Subscription Plan to Unlock Extra Features for Users

Meta is working on introducing paid subscriptions to WhatsApp. Currently in development, the new feature will let users gain access to a plethora of new features, locked behind a paywall. This is part of Meta's plan to bring premium experiences on Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp for a fee.

WhatsApp plans on introducing paid features for users

Spotted by WABetaInfo, the feature is currently in development and was discovered in the codebase of the Android beta 2.26.4.8 build, which is being rolled out via the Google Play Beta Program. The feature tracker also gave us a good look at how the subscription feature will work and look like.

This comes after WhatsApp ads and subscriptions arrived to status and channels. Now, a new "More ways to make WhatsApp yours" prompt shows at the bottom of the screen within a chat, with a "Join Waitlist" and "Not now" options. Once users join, they will have access to extra features and perks like exclusive stickers, app themes and extra pinned chats options.

At the time of writing, it is unclear if these premium features will bear an exclusive badge like those of Snapchat. However, it is clear that WhatsApp is working to differentiate the experience when it comes to regular and subscribed users.

Moreover, the report claims that paid users will also be able to change the app icons, set per chat basis ringtone and many more. Since none of these are official yet, there could be a possibility that some of these features will not make their way to the final release.

That said, it doesn't look like WhatsApp is looking to enforce the new subscription option onto users. Also, it is worth noting that we are not sure if existing features will be limited to differentiate between the paid and free tiers. So, it will be interesting to see this new option arrive in the official WhatsApp release and how useful it actually turns out.