A leak in the app’s code hints at the arrival of a possible monthly subscription to remove the advertising that Meta will insert in States and Channels.
There was a time, not so long ago, when paying for WhatsApp was normal. After using the app for 1 year, the company proposed a symbolic payment of less than €1 to continue using it. Then Facebook came along, bought the app, and we haven’t seen a payment message for using the service since.
Or at least that’s what we can gather from the latest update to the beta version of the app. According to WABetaInfo and Android Authority, the most widely used messaging app in Catalonia contains a section of code in its latest beta version from late January 2026 that mentions a possible payment for using the service without advertising.
Editorial credit: cliplab / Shutterstock.com
The specialist website Android Authority has found explicit lines of code that refer to “reviewing your subscription” or “choosing to use Status and Channels for free with ads.”
The code suggests a figure of $1 per month, although experts point out that this could be a retention fee (a cheaper offer for users who try to cancel).
Initially , WhatsApp cost €0.79 per year on Android, and on iPhone, a one-time payment was required after one year of use. When Facebook (now Meta) bought the app, it eliminated those fees, which it could now recover.
With this subscription, private chats will remain ad-free, and Meta’s advertising strategy would focus on the platform’s States and Channels. The measure could be announced in 2026 in some countries.
In countries such as India, Brazil, and Singapore, Meta has already launched its other vertical to monetize the platform, WhatsApp Pay, which allows in-app payments with merchants and contacts.
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