From “all free” to the subscription model: which functions will have to be paid for on WhatsApp and social networks

There was a time, during the rise of Silicon Valley, when all Internet services were accessible free and free. This included storage, apps, social media, music and videos. But that phase is over and has little by little been replaced by the “dictatorship” of the prize.

For years, information has been the fuel that has powered the digital economy. The data was used by companies to study consumer behavior, to understand what they were looking for and therefore provide what they needed.

Until the European Union started imposing access restrictions personal information and put this model of digital globalization under control. The final blow, however, was given by Apple with iOS 14.5, eliminating notification tracking on the iPhone.

Big tech companies today shelter themselves under the umbrella of transformation to justify charging a Monthly subscription to browse social networks, use WhatsApp or make a backup.

The regulation of messaging

Although for current functions the service of WhatsApp will remain freeMeta’s intention is to add privileged features – such as Meta AI, a chatbot integrated into contacts – that You must pay from your pocket to access this new category.

The other plan is to introduce a small one Monthly fee -as indicated by Will Cathcart, director of WhatsApp- for sure Channels. The idea is that subscribers receive exclusive news and content found nowhere else.

Another sign of the adjustment is that the conversations and photos can no longer be stored indefinitely. Until now, it was enough to have an Android phone connected to a Google account for WhatsApp to save chats on Google Drive.

Free Google accounts give you 15GB to safeguard anything you want. The difference is that WhatsApp data, which can sometimes exceed this quota, is not previously saved have been counted on the ladder.

Google has announced that it will change its storage policies for Drive and it will no longer be possible to make unlimited backups. At Meta they tried to minimize the restrictions, claiming that everything will continue to work as before.

The most direct option is to contract 100GB per two dollars monthly or take the trouble to delete chats frequently to adjust the weight of backup files.

The “social rate”

Social networks, conceived almost as a public service where anyone can express their opinion, have entered a new circle where we will have to pay make full use of them.

The movements of Meta and TikTok, the largest social networks on the planet, confirm that they are moving towards a transition terrain, during which, at a minimum, the so-called model will coexist. organic with the tariff.

Last month, Meta began offering European customers ad-free subscriptions to Facebook and its sister network, Instagram 10 dollars a month.

In October, X launched an ad-free option. Along the same lines, TikTok revealed that it was testing an ad-free subscription. The next step forward was Snapchat, which is doing the same surveys.

And if organic activities are necessary to develop the correlation between the parts, it is also true that classification algorithms have made “pay to participate” a requirement that guarantees a more satisfying experience.

Those who disagree pay a fee, they will receive a service with advertising, with a slow updating of the contents of the feed, their publications will have little reach and low impact. In other words, you become silent spectators.

Some successful models

For some time now, platforms have been facing serious problems with toxic content that undermines trust. To sweep away this waste, they have tried to control the groups they encourage violence and disinformationwithout suppressing free expression.

The solution that many put into practice is to demand a monthly fee, in exchange for a little order and cleanliness in the content.

Paying to browse a social network is no big deal. LinkedIn has been offering this option for a long time and it works for you. Something similar happens with Tinder: if you want to see all the matches, you have to go to the next level.

I am private platforms are experiencing an unexpected recovery, according to eMarketer. As users increased their dwell time and started purchasing the products offered in them.

For those looking for qualified and segmented content, who want to avoid the highway of trolls, denigrating comments, fake news and for their publications to obtain a wide reception, subscription models are the right way.

However, asking for money for a service that has been offered for free for years may be excessive. Just as it is also giving less security to those who don’t pay, as happens with X.

Experts believe that the right thing to do is to try to encourage subscriptions because what you receive in return is better, with the premium seal, not because what you already had is worse.