Revenue, Subscriptions And Privacy: The Core Challenges Facing New WhatsApp Chief Kunal Shah
Revenue, Subscriptions And Privacy: The Core Challenges Facing New WhatsApp Chief Kunal Shah
Publish Date: 2026-06-22 11:13:00
Source Domain: www.ndtvprofit.com
Meta Platforms has appointed Cred founder Kunal Shah as the new global head of WhatsApp after investing $900 million (around Rs 8,550 crore) in the Indian fintech startup as part of its Series H funding round.
Shah is faced with a host of challenges when it comes to heading WhatsApp, including creating new revenue streams for the firm, along with consolidating its advertising and subscription features, as well as integrating AI agents into the messaging platform.
Business Platform Subscription Challenges
WhatsApp makes a majority of its revenue from businesses who pay the platform for the ability to reach its users. Medium and large firms use the WhatsApp Business Platform to send automated messages to users, such as flight confirmations, OTPs, or order tracking updates.
The platform also charges businesses a small fee per conversation, with rates varying by region and whether the chat was initiated by the user or the business.
The company also changes its business model from a “24-hour conversation window” pricing model to a strict per-message billing system. In high-density markets like India, Meta increased marketing template rates by roughly 10%. This has attracted backlash from business owners who use WhatsApp as they went from paying a fixed fee for conversations across 24 hours to being billed for every message. They also have to stick to approved messaging templates from Meta.
The app is also featuring ai-powered chat assistants, AI-generated images, business AI agents and ai-powered search and recommendation features.
ALSO READ: Meta Picks Kunal Shah As New WhatsApp Chief As Part Of Rs 8,550 Crore Cred Investment
Data Privacy Concerns
The plans to integrate AI agents along with facilitating businesses to send unsolicited messages, may also alienate users and open up questions regarding data privacy.
Despite the company…
