WhatsApp originally made money by what’s known as a subscription service. They would charge $1 to download the app and $1 in each subsequent year to continue using the app. (This was only true for countries that allowed such charges; some countries did not).
In late 2016 WhatsApp announced their messaging app would be free to use. In their announcement they said, “Starting this year, we will test tools that allow you to use WhatsApp to communicate with businesses and organizations that you want to hear from". I believe that means WhatsApp will charge the business and organizations.
