Echoing Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg earlier this month, WhatsApp CEO Jan Koum says there are no plans to monetize the app beyond the current subscription model.
Speaking at the Code/Mobile conference, Koum stated that there are no plans to bring ads to the messaging service, while the expected voice call function would be coming in early 2015. Both Koum and Zuckerberg state that the plan with WhatsApp is to gain users at the moment – and worry about monetization once it has ‘a billion users’, as Zuckerberg says.
WhatsApp charges users in some countries, with a small yearly fee, but this doesn’t create a lot of revenue. In 2013 it made a little over $10 million, contributing to a net loss of $138 million. WhatsApp has a long way to go before it finds profitability.
Source: Re/code
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