As Meta plans on rolling out WhatsApp Plus, it seems like a quality experience might have a price after all.
WhatsApp has had a single tier, and that has been free for all its users. The perks that roll out on the app are available to every user- none of them had to pay any more to access a premium version. The subscription model- that’s what was missing from the messaging app.
But it wouldn’t be too long until Meta introduces a second tier, WhatsApp Plus.
That would change the messaging game for many, adding app themes, premium stickers, an option to pin up to 20 chats at once, and much more. These features aren’t as significant, but they’re still a level-up for the demographics that most enjoy them- Gen Z and teenagers.
Over 2 billion users are fond of WhatsApp stickers, especially to make their daily communication more engaging and fun. It’s the evolution of communication.
For these users, such features are part of their self-expression. And for brands, it’s a part of their creative branding. Marketers are actively leveraging memes and turning their content into GIFs to promote their brands.
It’s simple to gauge why some of us prefer one aesthetic to another- it’s the same deal with these features. That’s what WhatsApp is leaning into. The only friction is the wall that the messaging app also plans to placate, especially to access these special, new features.
Subscription models are profitable for businesses. But for customers, it has gradually come to be a necessary evil. The business model is walking a tightrope- and posits a much bigger problem for market domains that directly deal with the “humans” behind the customer identity.
Gauging from Netflix’s Black Mirror episode, “Common People” (2025), the market has been witnessing a notorious concern: the quality of subscription-based models is decreasing, while prices are surging. And now, adding to this dilemma are the ads.
You call it dystopian. But it’s the reality.
WhatsApp is merely adding minuscule new features behind the wall, without diminishing access to what users truly use the messenger for- communication. But as is the case with all subscription models, this could mark the beginning of a disjuncture between access and experience.
What happens when access is cut down upon? Can Meta really term it as a premium and get away with it? Only time will tell.
