Poll: Have you subscribed to WhatsApp Plus?
Meta is officially charging KES 119 a month for a name that used to get you banned. But are cosmetic upgrades and extra pinned chats worth paying for?
It has been a few weeks since Meta officially rolled out its premium subscription tier, WhatsApp Plus. If you open your settings today, you will likely spot a shiny new option labeled Subscriptions: Explore premium benefits. But ever since the update dropped, the tech community has been buzzing with mixed feelings. So, we have to ask the ultimate question: Is anyone actually paying for this?
Before we dive into what this subscription actually offers, how it compares to the infamous banned WhatsApp+ version from back in the day, and where I personally stand on it, let’s hear from you:
What do you get for KES 119 a month?
Meta is currently offering a 1-month free trial, after which the service will set you back KES 119.00 per month. If you decide to open your wallet, Meta unlocks a handful of cosmetic and organizational upgrades. WhatsApp Plus premium features include:
- Send exclusive stickers: A vault of unique animated expressions to flash in your group chats.
- Choose a custom app icon: The ability to swap out the classic green logo on your home screen for something fresh.
- Change your app’s theme: Deep customization for your chat backgrounds and accent colors.
- Get exclusive ringtones: Custom alert sounds to distinguish your VIP contacts.
- Upgrade your chat lists: Advanced sorting options to manage your busy inbox.
- Pin extra chats: The ability to keep more than the standard three crucial conversations at the very top of your feed.
If you are wondering about the logistics of jumping onto the premium bandwagon, the transaction goes through the Google Play billing system.
The old WhatsApp Plus vs. Meta’s paid tier
For the veteran Android users among us, the name WhatsApp Plus probably triggers a massive wave of nostalgia, and a bit of irony. Years ago, a wildly popular, unofficial third-party fork known as WhatsApp Plus dominated the scene. It was completely free, though highly illegal in Meta’s eyes, frequently resulting in temporary or permanent account bans for users caught utilizing it.
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Here is how the old-school free mod stacks up against Meta’s new official paid tier:
| Feature | The Old Discontinued Mod (Third-Party Fork) | Meta’s New Official WhatsApp Plus |
| Cost | Free (At the cost of security risks) | KES 119.00 / month |
| Custom Themes & Icons | Fully supported with thousands of community layouts. | Supported officially via curated options. |
| Pinning Chats | Virtually unlimited. | Expanded (Pin extra chats). |
| Privacy Exploits | Allowed users to freeze “last seen,” hide blue ticks while seeing others’, and read deleted messages. | Strictly standard privacy; no creeping tools allowed. |
| Account Safety | High risk of getting banned by Meta. | 100% safe, official, and integrated. |
It is fascinating to see Meta take a name that used to get you banned, slap a price tag on features that third-party developers built for free a decade ago, and sell it back to us as an exclusive luxury experience.
To subscribe or not?
Iβll be completely straight with you: No, I haven’t subscribed, and I don’t see myself doing it.
Unless I absolutely have to pay for it for deep-dive review purposes (if you, our readers, really feel like you need an exhaustive breakdown) I am keeping my KES 119. Frankly, I don’t think the average user needs it at all. Pinned chats and custom icons are nice conveniences, but they hardly feel like utility features worth a recurring monthly fee in this economy.
But hey, that’s just my opinion. I want to know what the Techish Kenya community thinks!
