WhatsApp start charging you from TODAY?

 Message sparks huge payment fear
WHATSAPP fans will soon be forced to pay to use the service, a message has claimed. However, before clicking on the subscription link users should be warned it's a scam.
WhatsApp users are being targeted with a new message that claims they'll soon be forced to pay 99p to continue to use the popular service.

The fake text, which has been circulating this week, states, “Your subscription has expired. To verify your account and purchase a lifetime subscription for just 0.99 GBP simply tap on this link.”

The message is a hoax with WhatsApp users warned not to click on the link or pay the 99p charge.

WhatsApp did charge some users to access the service but these subscription fees were scrapped back in 2016.

In a blog post WhatsApp confirmed the service will remain free saying: "We're happy to announce that WhatsApp will no longer charge subscription fees.

"For many years, we've asked some people to pay a fee for using WhatsApp after their first year.

"As we've grown, we've found that this approach hasn't worked well.

"WhatsApp will no longer charge you for our service."
This isn't the first time WhatsApp users have been targeted by scammers.

Back in January, another WhatsApp hoax made users believe they were to start being charged 0.01p per message sent on through the app.

Although a tiny figure in its own right, given the amount of messages most of us send through WhatsApp, this would have been a figure that would quickly add up.

Beyond this, last month WhatsApp users were targeted by a scam that tricked them into installing malicious software on their devices.

The scam tricked fans of the popular service by suggesting a range of new customisable colours were available to them.

Encouraging users to share the message with 12 friend to verify their accounts and activate the feature, the message then pushed users to download a Chrome plug in that made them vulnerable to nasty adware.

One piece of WhatsApp news that isn't a scam is that the service will stop working on some devices from the end of this month.

The Facebook-owned company originally warned owners of some iPhones, Android, BlackBerry and Nokia devices that WhatsApp would stop working in December 2016.

But they then had a change of heart with a blog post confirming that WhatsApp was "extending support for BlackBerry OS, BlackBerry 10, Nokia S40 and Nokia Symbian S60 until June 2017."

Sadly for owners of those devices the time has come to wave goodbye to WhatsApp as, from June 30th, it will no longer work.