Zuckerberg: Facebook Has No Near-Term Plan to Monetize WhatsApp Everyone will have to wait and see how 'Big Blue' can turn a profit on its recently acquired messaging service.
By Reuters
This story originally appeared on Reuters
Facebook Inc, which closed its acquisition of mobile messaging service WhatsApp on Monday, has no near-term plan to make money from the service, Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg said on Thursday.
Zuckerberg, who is visiting India to participate in an event to boost Internet usage, did not give details.
Facebook's final WhatsApp acquisition price tag has risen an additional $3 billion to roughly $22 billion because of the increased value of Facebook's stock in recent months.
WhatsApp works across different types of phones, across borders, and without advertising. The app only charges a 99 cent annual subscription fee, which is waived for the first year.
(Reporting by Aditya Kalra; Editing by Miral Fahmy)
