[mindcrash]

You guys really should take what you learned building WhatsApp and start over.

Make it subscription based, with a low bar of entry ($10 or so per month), don't do ads, don't do data harvesting (unless required by law enforcement) and/or "science" (for profit), guarantee freedom of speech (as long as said speech is protected by law, ofcourse) -- in other words: don't become Zuck -- and you will outcompete Facebook come 2025.

[option_greek]

10$ month as low barrier of entry for a messaging app is unthinkable for most of the users. Especially for those regions that WhatsApp serves now.

[jawilson2]

There is a small handful of things will pay more than $10/month for: my mortgage, car, and utilities. We cancelled Amazon prime when it hit that, and will cancel Netflix when it hits that. I will not pay for text messaging; I'll happily continue using Android messaging instead.

[chillacy]

$120 a year when all the competitors are free?

[burntoutcase]

Ten bucks a month? For instant messaging? Did you think this through?

[toper-centage]

I mean, that's like.. The price of a pound of bananas right?. /s Some people are delusional.