WhatsApp is dropping its subscription fees to access the popular messaging service. WhatsApp introduced the fees a few years ago, forcing new users to pay an annual 99 cents subscription after the first year. WhatsApp has always been free to download and use for the first year. In fact, original users of the app, who joined WhatsApp when it started out six years back, were given a free lifetime service. But in recent years, the company introduced a subscription fee of 0.99 cents after the first free year.

The announcement also implies that the Facebook-owned WhatsApp may potentially be forfeiting hundreds of millions in annual revenue. The messenger app that allows a quick, easy and inexpensive way to send messages, photos and videos, particularly popular in Europe, parts of Asia and South America.

Although the fee is negligible, the company admits that it has harmed its growth, particularly in developing countries where access to banking services is not so good.

Facebook purchased WhatsApp in 2014 for $19 billion and since then has been on a growth trajectory. Being part of the Facebook stable allows WhatsApp access to the social network’s powerful infrastructure, which includes financial and technical support that it needs to grow, while WhatsApp gives Facebook access to a nearly 1 billion user base.