Facebook’s WhatsApp, Instagram Shift Business Models

Financial Times: WhatsApp and Instagram unveiled changes to their business models, as the Facebook-owned apps look to turn their user bases into substantial businesses. Jan Koum, co-founder and CEO of WhatsApp, said the messaging app is scrapping the 99-cent annual fee it charges consumers after a year. He said the company would instead focus on making businesses pay to connect with users. Separately, Instagram said that the photo-sharing app plans to expand its advertising model and ramp up efforts with small businesses and users outside the U.S.