{"id":295894,"date":"2026-06-22T05:28:24","date_gmt":"2026-06-22T05:28:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/295894\/"},"modified":"2026-06-22T05:28:24","modified_gmt":"2026-06-22T05:28:24","slug":"whatsapp-plus-launches-in-south-africa-is-the-new-r29-subscription-worth-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/295894\/","title":{"rendered":"WhatsApp Plus launches in South Africa: Is the new R29 subscription worth it?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p data-block-key=\"9f7zc\">Here\u2019s what the new subscription includes and how to sign up.<\/p>\n<p>                  <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"WhatsApp phone 26\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/WhatsApp_phone_26.2e16d0ba.fill-800x600.png\" width=\"800\"\/><\/p>\n<p>                      WhatsApp \/ iStock<\/p>\n<p data-block-key=\"8vpqm\">WhatsApp users in South Africa can now unlock extra features with the launch of WhatsApp Plus, a new subscription service from Meta priced at R28.99 per month.<\/p>\n<p data-block-key=\"1hh5d\">The subscription was first tested earlier this year and is aimed at users who want more ways to personalise and organise their WhatsApp experience.<\/p>\n<p data-block-key=\"7b3r5\">The good news is your regular WhatsApp chats, calls, and messages remain completely free.<\/p>\n<p data-block-key=\"8vpqm\">ALSO READ: <a href=\"https:\/\/m.ecr.co.za\/shows\/east-coast-breakfast\/the-unofficial-rules-of-community-whatsapp-groups\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">The unofficial rules of Community WhatsApp Groups<\/a><\/p>\n<p>                  What do you get with WhatsApp Plus?<\/p>\n<p data-block-key=\"20me\">New subscribers can enjoy a free one-month trial, although a payment method is required to activate it.<\/p>\n<p data-block-key=\"c43ak\">WhatsApp Plus currently includes six premium features:<\/p>\n<p>Custom app iconsNew chat themes and colour optionsEnhanced chat lists with custom alerts and ringtonesPin up to 20 chats (instead of the standard three)Exclusive sticker packsAdditional notification and ringtone options<\/p>\n<p data-block-key=\"c6qeo\">The subscription focuses on customisation rather than adding major new messaging tools.<\/p>\n<p>                  How to subscribe<\/p>\n<p data-block-key=\"4i095\">Android users:<\/p>\n<p>Open WhatsAppTap the three-dot menuSelect SettingsTap Subscriptions<\/p>\n<p data-block-key=\"fo8vj\">iPhone users:<\/p>\n<p>Open WhatsAppTap your profile icon in the bottom-right cornerSelect Subscriptions<\/p>\n<p data-block-key=\"eorgl\">ALSO READ: <a href=\"https:\/\/m.ecr.co.za\/shows\/east-coast-breakfast\/kzn-teachers-targeted-fake-job-offers-whatsapp\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Scam Alert: KZN teachers targeted with fake job offers on WhatsApp<\/a><\/p>\n<p data-block-key=\"eorgl\">WhatsApp Plus is the latest addition to Meta\u2019s growing list of paid services.<\/p>\n<p data-block-key=\"7j3qj\">The company already offers subscriptions on Facebook and Instagram, while premium versions of its Meta AI chatbot have also started rolling out in selected countries.<\/p>\n<p data-block-key=\"1bfnn\">For now, WhatsApp Plus appears to be aimed at users who enjoy personalising their apps and keeping their chats more organised, without changing the core WhatsApp experience millions rely on every day.<\/p>\n<p>    <a href=\"https:\/\/iono.fm\/c\/1614\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><\/p>\n<p>      <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"East Coast Breakfast new podcast banner\" height=\"938\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/breakfast_0091_ECR_-_Visual_Identity_Guide_-_Sh.original.jpg\" width=\"7583\"\/><\/p>\n<p>          East Coast Breakfast new podcast banner \/ ECR Images<\/p>\n<p>    <\/a><\/p>\n<p data-block-key=\"b95cs\">HOW TO LISTEN TO EAST COAST RADIO<\/p>\n<p data-block-key=\"de0ke\">1.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Listen to East Coast Radio on the FM (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/search?rlz=1C5CHFA_enZA980ZA981&amp;sxsrf=ALiCzsZKWL7a89Qm2NDJPpNor9qx0pBk8A:1659793518674&amp;q=What+FM+stands+for+in+radio%3F&amp;sa=X&amp;ved=2ahUKEwim09LYrLL5AhU_QUEAHXV1A5AQzmd6BAgaEAU&amp;biw=1440&amp;bih=764&amp;dpr=2\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">frequency modulation<\/a>) spectrum between\u00a094 and 95 FM on your radio.<\/p>\n<p data-block-key=\"1osup\">2.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ecr.co.za\/listen-live\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Listen live to ECR<\/a>\u00a0by\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ecr.co.za\/listen-live\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">clicking here<\/a>\u00a0or\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ecr.co.za\/east-coast-radio-app\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">download the ECR App<\/a>\u00a0(<a href=\"https:\/\/apps.apple.com\/za\/app\/east-coast-radio\/id1121150571\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">iOS<\/a>\/<a href=\"https:\/\/play.google.com\/store\/apps\/details?id=com.kagiso.ecr&amp;hl=en\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Android<\/a>).<\/p>\n<p data-block-key=\"veil\">3.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Listen to\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ecr.co.za\/press\/it-official-east-coast-radio-can-be-accessed-anywhere-sa\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">East Coast Radio on the DStv audio bouquet<\/a><\/p>\n<p data-block-key=\"8msv5\">4.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Switch to the audio bouquet on your OpenView decoder and browse to channel 606.<\/p>\n<p data-block-key=\"dit6d\">5.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Listen to us on\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Kagiso-Media-ECR-Live-Stream\/dp\/B07P46WMSP\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Amazon Alexa<\/a><\/p>\n<p data-block-key=\"45i8\">Follow us on social media:\u00a0<\/p>\n<p data-block-key=\"8t3pb\">\u00b7\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/eastcoastradio\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Facebook<\/a><\/p>\n<p data-block-key=\"1pg72\">\u00b7\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ecr9495\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Twitter<\/a><\/p>\n<p data-block-key=\"986a\">\u00b7\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/instagram.com\/eastcoastradio\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Instagram<\/a><\/p>\n<p data-block-key=\"b9abo\">\u00b7\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@eastcoastradiokzn\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">TikTok<\/a><\/p>\n<p data-block-key=\"ebik9\">\u00b7\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/whatsapp.com\/channel\/0029VaKjBtPEgGfLru0KU111\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">WhatsApp Channel<\/a><\/p>\n<p>  MORE ON EAST COAST RADIO<\/p>\n<p>            <script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><script async src=\"\/\/www.tiktok.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Here\u2019s what the new subscription includes and how to sign up. WhatsApp \/ iStock WhatsApp users in South&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":295895,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5],"tags":[63,148101,148102,46403,148100,148091,148105,148086,148110,2433,22643,148096,148092,148087,148094,148109,148108,148103,148098,148082,148095,148088,148083,148089,148106,148085,148093,148099,148104,148097,148084,148111,148090,148107],"class_list":["post-295894","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-africa","tag-africa","tag-facebook-plus","tag-instagram-plus","tag-meta","tag-meta-ai-subscription","tag-meta-platforms","tag-meta-revenue-strategy","tag-meta-subscription-service","tag-meta-subscriptions","tag-social-media","tag-whatsapp","tag-whatsapp-app-icons","tag-whatsapp-chat-customization","tag-whatsapp-custom-themes","tag-whatsapp-new-features","tag-whatsapp-news","tag-whatsapp-paid-features","tag-whatsapp-personalization","tag-whatsapp-pinned-chats","tag-whatsapp-plus","tag-whatsapp-plus-launch","tag-whatsapp-plus-price","tag-whatsapp-plus-south-africa","tag-whatsapp-plus-trial","tag-whatsapp-premium-account","tag-whatsapp-premium-features","tag-whatsapp-premium-subscription","tag-whatsapp-settings","tag-whatsapp-south-africa-2026","tag-whatsapp-stickers","tag-whatsapp-subscription","tag-whatsapp-update","tag-whatsapp-update-south-africa","tag-whatsapp-users-south-africa"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/295894","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=295894"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/295894\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/295895"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=295894"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=295894"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=295894"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}