WhatsApp messenger for iOS now free for a short time

The hugely popular free messaging application WhatsApp has had a great year in 2012, with the service exploding in popularity and expanding across Android and now Windows Phone 8 running devices. WhatsApp is also celebrating today after the app was crowned the best selling app of 2012 by iTunes.

Because of this, Apple and WhatsApp have come together to make the app (which usually retails for $0.99 or £0.69p)  free to download from the App Store for a short period of time to celebrate the win.

WhatsApp is currently a free download for Android users, but after a year of use, users of the app will then incur a charge  of a minimal yearly subscription of $0.99 or £0.69p.

Earlier in the week the company behind WhatsApp launched their Windows Phone 8 version of the app on the Microsoft Store which also comes with a small charge the same as on iOS devices.

The messaging service will have an increase in competition in 2013 from the likes of Skype, Viber and now Facebook, all of which are currently providing a similar service but with more of a focus on a non-subscription based service akin to WhatsApp.

If you don’t have the app currently installed on your iOS device then now is the time to grab it as regardless of the cost (free is always better) WhatsApp is one of the best apps available for chatting on any operating system.

WhatsApp Messenger is available for free on iTunes now.