Facebook’s New Message to WhatsApp: Make Money • Hacker News Board

Re: Facebook’s New Message to WhatsApp: Make Money

#31

Post by tigershark » Wed, Aug 01, 2018, 6:40 PM UTC

h1srf wrote: post #18

danirod wrote: post #14

Remember when WhatsApp required a subscription? One of the first changes made by Facebook after purchasing WhatsApp was to make it available for free. And now they're complaining they can't milk it enough? Oh dear. I know that a percentage of WhatsApp users would stop using the app if they started requiring a payment again –because apparently paying $1 per year for using an application on your $999 phone is outrageou…

Was it a subscription? I thought it was $1 to purchase(iOS).

on iOS was purchase, on android was subscription, after a while I think they may have switched to subscription on iOS for the people that didn't buy it.

Re: Facebook’s New Message to WhatsApp: Make Money

#32

Post by saagarjha » Wed, Aug 01, 2018, 6:41 PM UTC

enitihas wrote: post #26

noncoml wrote: post #15

Almost everybody I know has at least 2 messaging apps installed on their phone. What's to stop people start migrating to Signal/Telegram/Viber/Keybase/etc.. once WhatsApp starts displaying ads?

I think you are an outlier in that regard. Almost nobody I know is using any other messaging app instead of WhatsApp, and I just graduated out of University so my social circle consists of a lot of fresh engineering grads. It is hard for me to convince even my batchmates to install signal. I think people don't want to install anything else as none of their contacts are on any other platform.

It really depends on where you live. If you're in say, India, then sure, what you've said is probably true. But it's certainly not true everywhere in the world.

Re: Facebook’s New Message to WhatsApp: Make Money

#33

Post by ksec » Wed, Aug 01, 2018, 6:41 PM UTC

mcjiggerlog wrote: post #21

h1srf wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Was it a subscription? I thought it was $1 to purchase(iOS).

$1 per year

it was free for android and $1 for iOS users. subscription came way later..

Re: Facebook’s New Message to WhatsApp: Make Money

#34

Post by iamdave » Wed, Aug 01, 2018, 6:41 PM UTC

enitihas wrote: post #26

noncoml wrote: post #15

Almost everybody I know has at least 2 messaging apps installed on their phone. What's to stop people start migrating to Signal/Telegram/Viber/Keybase/etc.. once WhatsApp starts displaying ads?

I think you are an outlier in that regard. Almost nobody I know is using any other messaging app instead of WhatsApp, and I just graduated out of University so my social circle consists of a lot of fresh engineering grads. It is hard for me to convince even my batchmates to install signal. I think people don't want to install anything else as none of their contacts are on any other platform.

Since we're sharing anecdotes as qualitative data points, my experience has been the exact opposite: every last one of my friends that were on WhatsApp have migrated to Signal. I followed them. We're all US based, with two exceptions in the UK.

Re: Facebook’s New Message to WhatsApp: Make Money

#35

Post by coolspot » Wed, Aug 01, 2018, 6:41 PM UTC

h1srf wrote: post #18

danirod wrote: post #14

Remember when WhatsApp required a subscription? One of the first changes made by Facebook after purchasing WhatsApp was to make it available for free. And now they're complaining they can't milk it enough? Oh dear. I know that a percentage of WhatsApp users would stop using the app if they started requiring a payment again –because apparently paying $1 per year for using an application on your $999 phone is outrageou…

Was it a subscription? I thought it was $1 to purchase(iOS).

With $1 purchase you were getting 1 year subscription included. Next year would be $1 in-app purchase.

Re: Facebook’s New Message to WhatsApp: Make Money

#36

Post by mfoy_ » Wed, Aug 01, 2018, 6:41 PM UTC

enitihas wrote: post #26

noncoml wrote: post #15

Almost everybody I know has at least 2 messaging apps installed on their phone. What's to stop people start migrating to Signal/Telegram/Viber/Keybase/etc.. once WhatsApp starts displaying ads?

I think you are an outlier in that regard. Almost nobody I know is using any other messaging app instead of WhatsApp, and I just graduated out of University so my social circle consists of a lot of fresh engineering grads. It is hard for me to convince even my batchmates to install signal. I think people don't want to install anything else as none of their contacts are on any other platform.

I tried to get my friends who use WhatsApp to switch to Signal during the big Delete Facebook movement... I got a lot of pushback. It did not happen. :(

Re: Facebook’s New Message to WhatsApp: Make Money

#37

Post by saagarjha » Wed, Aug 01, 2018, 6:41 PM UTC

bassman9000 wrote: post #25

jakebasile wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've just defaulted back to iMessage for pretty much everything - not an ideal option if you don't mostly talk to people with Apple devices though.

Thanks, but we have a mixed ecosystem, and Apple vendor lock-in is not an option. Plus, their current pro-privacy stance seems phony.

Phony in what way?

Re: Facebook’s New Message to WhatsApp: Make Money

#38

Post by polyomino » Wed, Aug 01, 2018, 6:47 PM UTC

danirod wrote: post #14

Remember when WhatsApp required a subscription? One of the first changes made by Facebook after purchasing WhatsApp was to make it available for free. And now they're complaining they can't milk it enough? Oh dear. I know that a percentage of WhatsApp users would stop using the app if they started requiring a payment again –because apparently paying $1 per year for using an application on your $999 phone is outrageou…

Because they can make more money from ads. Why do you think Facebook for work is so cheap?

Re: Facebook’s New Message to WhatsApp: Make Money

#39

Post by ksec » Wed, Aug 01, 2018, 6:47 PM UTC

enitihas wrote: post #26

noncoml wrote: post #15

Almost everybody I know has at least 2 messaging apps installed on their phone. What's to stop people start migrating to Signal/Telegram/Viber/Keybase/etc.. once WhatsApp starts displaying ads?

I think you are an outlier in that regard. Almost nobody I know is using any other messaging app instead of WhatsApp, and I just graduated out of University so my social circle consists of a lot of fresh engineering grads. It is hard for me to convince even my batchmates to install signal. I think people don't want to install anything else as none of their contacts are on any other platform.

Where are you from? I think location and Culture makes a huge difference. Whatsapp wasnt even a thing in US before Facebook bought it. France was mainly iMessages ( transition from SMS ) before Facebook acquired WhatsApp.

Then there are places like China which no one uses WhatsApp.

Re: Facebook’s New Message to WhatsApp: Make Money

#40

Post by sreyaNotfilc » Wed, Aug 01, 2018, 6:48 PM UTC

danirod wrote: post #14

Remember when WhatsApp required a subscription? One of the first changes made by Facebook after purchasing WhatsApp was to make it available for free. And now they're complaining they can't milk it enough? Oh dear. I know that a percentage of WhatsApp users would stop using the app if they started requiring a payment again –because apparently paying $1 per year for using an application on your $999 phone is outrageou…

I'm wondering if this pressure was in response to the 20% decline on FB stocks. Its as if the shareholders looked at their portfolio in search of companies acquired that could fill that void.