Whatsapp on Andriod charging?

TangoTango Posts: 522
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I read that they definitely started charging.

Has anyone paid the fees or think its a rip off?


Thanks
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  • Synthetic42Synthetic42 Posts: 1,690
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    Mine is still showing lifetime right now
  • TangoTango Posts: 522
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    Mine is still showing lifetime right now

    on andriod?
  • wrexham103.4wrexham103.4 Posts: 3,334
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    paid 69p in june after the 1st free year expired
  • GetFrodoGetFrodo Posts: 1,805
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    Tango wrote: »
    I read that they definitely started charging.

    Has anyone paid the fees or think its a rip off?


    Thanks

    Yes after a fairly long period of use, in Germany, it started nagging for payment and eventually stopped working. I'm not sure I would call €1-2 per year a rip-off...I rarely have to send an SMS these days.

    So yes, I have sold my soul not only to Google but also Whatsapp, even paying for the privilege, but it is a nice tool whose user base has, in my case, reached the critical mass to make it useful.
  • Anika HansonAnika Hanson Posts: 15,629
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    Mine also still stays lifetime. I did pay for the app when I originally got it when I was on iOS.
  • Synthetic42Synthetic42 Posts: 1,690
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    Tango wrote: »
    on andriod?

    Yup, I also originally had it on iOS too though
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 2,151
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    I simply signed into my whatsapp account on my mums iphone, and then back in on my android phone and it gave me another year.

    in previous years, you could simply ignore the nag message, and it would give you another free year eventually.
  • TheBigMTheBigM Posts: 13,125
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    Mine is lifetime and have never paid a penny :)
    But I was one of the early users of Windows Phone to get it, i think the newer users have to pay.
  • Mark in EssexMark in Essex Posts: 3,836
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    I don't think its a rip off as it gets so much use from me (forever sending messages to my mates with iPhones on Whatsapp as we have a group setup).

    Use it to send photos for free as well so well worth the 69p/year (or whatever it costs).
  • trevvytrev21trevvytrev21 Posts: 16,973
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    Paid the 69p a few months back, well worth it IMO. I couldn't actually go without Whatsapp these days - rarely use SMS and even then it's only for people without smartphones. Everyone I know uses Whatsapp.
  • StigglesStiggles Posts: 9,618
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    69p is hardly a rip off!!
  • paul2307paul2307 Posts: 8,079
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    Try Viber instead its free
  • Mark in EssexMark in Essex Posts: 3,836
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    What I do think is more of a rip off was the Weather Pro app.

    I bought it for £1.99 and then found you had to pay £3.99 per year for the option to have hourly forecast and 14 day weather.

    Must admit I prob would not have paid it if I did not have some money I had on my Google Wallet and was not drunk at the time. :)

    It is a good app though but would have expected for nearly £6 it would have been free for a lifetime to have all the extras.
  • grumpyoldbatgrumpyoldbat Posts: 3,663
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    The reason that apps like that charge an extra fee is because they'll be licensing information from different sources. If you want the indepth news and 14 day forecast, chances are, they're having to pay someone to supply that information. Why shouldn't they pass on that cost?
  • Mark in EssexMark in Essex Posts: 3,836
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    The reason that apps like that charge an extra fee is because they'll be licensing information from different sources. If you want the indepth news and 14 day forecast, chances are, they're having to pay someone to supply that information. Why shouldn't they pass on that cost?

    Ok, but would it really cost £3.99 per year times how many tens of thousands of people that have upgraded? I'm sure it would not cost more than a couple of thousand pounds a year for the info on the extra 7 days?

    Agreed it's a good app but looking at the Play store again there are free weather apps that do 14 day weather forecasts (prob not as good though, but £3.99 is a lot per year).
  • gillyallangillyallan Posts: 31,708
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    My whatsapp kept complaining about connections when id run into a wifi hotspot. Decided to uninstall it and replace it with viber
  • grumpyoldbatgrumpyoldbat Posts: 3,663
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    Ok, but would it really cost £3.99 per year times how many tens of thousands of people that have upgraded? I'm sure it would not cost more than a couple of thousand pounds a year for the info on the extra 7 days?

    Agreed it's a good app but looking at the Play store again there are free weather apps that do 14 day weather forecasts (prob not as good though, but £3.99 is a lot per year).

    Yes, it is possible that it costs them thousands of pounds for a license, and the £3.99 is a portion of that which reflects the number of people who actually do the upgrade. I use the app on both iPhone and Android, and I haven't upgraded. I bet the vast majority of people don't pay the extra. If all the users wanted the extra service, they could just stick an extra quid on the app price and be done with it. It's economies of scale. If only a small portion of the user base wants premium features, they have to charge more for that to make it possible.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 641
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    I have Samsung S3 mini and mine says lifetime. I am yet to even add a debit card to my google play account.

    But it does say on the account page that Whatsapp is attached to your phone number not the device, so I paid for it a long time ago on my iPhone 3GS.
  • alan1302alan1302 Posts: 6,336
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    Tango wrote: »
    Has anyone paid the fees or think its a rip off?


    Thanks

    69p and rip off in the same sentence! :eek: :rolleyes:
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 13,367
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    alan1302 wrote: »
    69p and rip off in the same sentence! :eek: :rolleyes:

    I know. A year of messaging and avoiding MMS charges for roughly the same price as a chocolate bar. Total rip-off!!
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 2,151
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    alan1302 wrote: »
    69p and rip off in the same sentence! :eek: :rolleyes:

    Well its all relative really - isn't it.

    If the newsagents were charging 63p for a penny chew, then that would certainly be a rip off.

    Its not the fact that they're charging that bothered me... Its the fact that some people seem to be getting free lifetime subscriptions, or free renewals .. Possibly depending which type of phone they originally used when they signed up to whatsapp.

    That to me seems very unfair.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 641
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    Well its all relative really - isn't it.

    If the newsagents were charging 63p for a penny chew, then that would certainly be a rip off.

    Its not the fact that they're charging that bothered me... Its the fact that some people seem to be getting free lifetime subscriptions, or free renewals .. Possibly depending which type of phone they originally used when they signed up to whatsapp.

    That to me seems very unfair.

    Or when we lucky ones signed up :P

    It's no different to any other product out there. Example, you book a train from Leeds to London 12 weeks in advance and pay £20, I book it on the day, making the same journey on the exact same train and I pay £120.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 13,367
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    Its not the fact that they're charging that bothered me... Its the fact that some people seem to be getting free lifetime subscriptions, or free renewals .. Possibly depending which type of phone they originally used when they signed up to whatsapp.

    That to me seems very unfair.

    Well, as already pointed out, some of those people will have already paid for the app when they were on iOS. And there will always be apps that were once free but now cost money. They've moved to a subscription model and that's the way it is. If you think it's not worth it, don't subscribe. But I really don't see how 69p can be considered a rip-off for, as I said before, a year of messaging. Three picture messages and it's more than paid for itself.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 2,151
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    But the iOS users pay about 50p. Once.

    Android users are expected to pay every year.

    I know 69p is cheap. But its not the money. Its the principle of it
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 13,367
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    But the iOS users pay about 50p. Once.

    Android users are expected to pay every year.

    I know 69p is cheap. But its not the money. Its the principle of it

    iOS users pay 69p, and have done since it was launched. For much of this time, it was completely free on Android. So at that point you could have complained that iOS users were being ripped off.

    Besides, rumour is that it'll move to a subscription service on iOS too.
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