WhatsApp Tests ‘WhatsApp Plus’ Subscription for Customization

WhatsApp has officially begun testing a new subscription service dubbed “WhatsApp Plus,” joining the ranks of platforms like Instagram and Snapchat by offering an optional paid tier. Unlike previous business-centric revenue models, this new offering focuses primarily on aesthetic personalization and organizational features for individual users.

The pilot program was identified by various users, including social media consultant Matt Navarra, and has been confirmed by Meta. According to a spokesperson, the company is evaluating the subscription to provide users with “more ways to organize and personalize their experience.”

Features and Customization Options

While the service is currently in a limited testing phase, early reports from WABetaInfo suggest a tiered pricing structure that includes a one-month free trial. Pricing appears to vary by region, with reports of €2.49 per month in Europe and approximately $0.82 (229 PKR) in Pakistan.

The premium features identified so far include:

• Expanded pinning capacity: Users can pin up to 20 chats, a significant increase from the standard limit of three.
• Personalized aesthetics: Access to exclusive chat themes and custom interface icons.
• Customized audio: New options for ringtones and notification sounds applied to specific chat lists.

Notably, the current test does not include an option to remove advertisements from the Status feature, which Meta began implementing last year.

Strategic Shift in Revenue

This move marks a return to consumer-facing subscriptions for the platform, which famously abandoned a $1 annual fee shortly after its acquisition by Facebook in 2016. Since then, Meta has focused its monetization strategy on business-to-consumer messaging and click-to-WhatsApp advertising.

The strategy has proven lucrative; during the Q4 2025 earnings call, Meta reported that WhatsApp’s revenue reached an annualized run-rate of $2 billion. Furthermore, the company’s broader family of apps saw a 54% year-on-year revenue increase to $801 million, largely driven by paid messaging services.

Despite the growth in business messaging, WhatsApp Plus remains a small-scale experiment. With a global user base exceeding 3 billion, the current test is unlikely to immediately impact Meta’s overall financial performance. The company stated it is gathering user feedback to determine if these cosmetic additions provide enough value for a wider rollout.