After an initial announcement and some sightings, WhatsApp Plus has now arrived in the apps distributed in Italy. It costs 2.49 euros per month and gives you access to a long series of options. The first month is free, then you pay month by month.
Not an experiment. It’s not an ad. And it’s not even one screenshot leaked by some developer. The paid version of WhatsApp has arrived in Italy. Is called WhatsApp Plus and is found in the settings of all updated versions of the app. We anticipated it at the end of May. The new version of WhatsApp does not replace the free one. Which, at least for the moment, remains fully functional. WhatsApp Plus enhances some sections of the app, adds functions and pushes a bit on customization. It’s not revolutionary, of course. But if you use this app a lot, perhaps for work, it could be useful to have some more tools. In recent weeks Meta had also updated Facebook, adding the Facebook Plus option.
The move to WhatsApp Plus comes from afar. Almost ten years ago WhatsApp was a payment: we are talking about a minimum fee, just one euro per year. The annual subscription was active until 2016, when Half (then it was still called Facebook) decided to bring everything back to the free version. Since then, the WhatsApp subscription has become a bit of a specter on social media. We have recovered traces of fake news linked precisely to this theme already in 2020. In the end the real announcement came from Naomi GleitHead of Product at Meta. The May 27th announced the start of the release of the Plus versions of WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook in all countries.
How to activate WhatsApp Plus: the first month is free
The first step to activate WhatsApp Plus is to go to your app. At this point go directly to your profile. As soon as above the Lists sectionfind the section Subscriptions. In the latest version we saw of WhatsAppthis section also had a green dot next to it. Usually these symbols serve to indicate that we have new content in front of us. Once we have selected the Subscriptions part we find WhatsApp Plusand then we can move directly to the page with inside all paid options. The last step is to select the option Start your month free of charge. The first ones 30 days so they are free and then you will have to pay 2.49 euros per month. There is no trace, at least at the moment, of Meta Onethe space announced at the end of May in which to manage all app subscriptions Half.
The new green dot on WhatsApp: it is a symbol on the profile photo to understand if you are online
What are the functions that can be accessed with WhatsApp Plus
No surprises however for the functions introduced in the new version of the app. Everything corresponds to the ads. There is the possibility of add chats among those pinned: at the moment the limit is Three. You can change the theme of the app, modifying colors, backgrounds and icons. You can use exclusive stickers and ringtones. Among the options presented in the subscription is the possibility to choose a custom icon. Perhaps this function is not exactly revolutionary, given that already by changing the theme in smartphone operating systems it is possible to adjust the color of the icon. Certain. As we have already explained in all this there could be a problem for the future of users: Many of these options in the past have simply been new features inserted into regular updates. The risk therefore is that it remains one basic version of WhatsApp stopped until 2026 and a paid one which continues to update.
