Many readers' comments sent to Tuoi Tre Online shared that Zalo needs to charge fees to serve users, however, many also criticized the 'ambiguous' way of charging fees.
Zalo uses the excuse that the system is busy to "subtly force" users to pay for texting and calling - Photo: DUC THIEN
Regarding the article "Zalo charges users to create new accounts", many readers responded to Tuoi Tre Online , including many opinions agreeing and disagreeing.
Many users have reported that the Zalo platform "subtly forces" users to get the verification code when registering a new account, retrieving the password, or changing to another device, requiring them to send a text message to the switchboard number service with a fee of 1,000 - 5,000 VND per text message depending on the number; or call the switchboard with a fee of 1,000 VND/minute.
Zalo needs costs to survive, but the 5,000 VND fee is "a bit high"
Many users think that Zalo is a domestic application and has been free for a long time, now it only charges a few thousand dong so it needs support.
“Zalo has been giving users freebies for many years. Now it’s hard to sell ads, so they have to pay to survive. It’s only a few thousand dong. We should sympathize with them so they can survive and serve for a long time,” wrote reader Nguyen Van Thuat.
Similarly, reader Minh Trieu commented: "Zalo's quality is quite good, I support a few thousand to pay for high-quality Vietnamese products."
According to An G, the fee of 5,000 VND is equal to the motorbike parking fee, not much but maybe people are used to it being free so now they react.
"I don't think it's that much of a waste. I have a habit of wanting everything to be free and then complaining," reader Tai said.
Explaining more specifically about the text message fee, reader Kennedy said that to send the OTP code to the authenticated phone number, Zalo has to pay the network operator a fee, it's not free.
People who often forget their passwords, every time they forget, they just press forget password and send OTP, Zalo suffers, they have to pay OTP fee to the network operator, so every time they get OTP, the account owner has to pay a fee. However, according to this reader, the fee of 5,000 VND is "a bit too high".
Don't use the "system is busy..." trick.
On the other hand, many users expressed dissatisfaction with Zalo charging a fee while it has always announced itself as a free application.
“Replaced a new device, logged back into my own account, but Zalo still charged me 5,000 VND for the text message to get the activation code,” a reader wrote.
This view is shared by many readers. “The application cannot save messages automatically, which is cramped. Images disappear after a while while other applications keep messages intact after 10 years. Now they are demanding money,” said reader Beo.
Many other opinions also said that Zalo needs to be more transparent and clear about text message fees because the fee is not worth being ambiguous about.
“If there is a fee, it should be clearly announced. If it brings benefits, users will not hesitate to pay a few dollars to register,” reader Tra Hoa commented.
Similarly, reader Thich Cmt also thinks that Zalo has now become a popular application, if maintenance fees are needed, they should cleverly "save small amounts to make a big amount, don't let users turn their backs".
Many users suggested that Zalo could clearly announce that the verification code is obtained through a number service and that customers have to pay, without having to use the "trick" of announcing: "The system is busy, cannot automatically send the verification code at this time" to force users.
No money no verification code
On the morning of February 16, a Tuoi Tre Online reporter tried to register to open a new Zalo account and received the message: "The system is busy and cannot automatically send the verification code at this time", along with the suggestion: "To prioritize receiving the code immediately, you can...", along with the option to text to 6020 (fee 1,000 VND/SMS) or call the switchboard 19001223 (fee 1,000 VND/minute).
The same message and suggestion appeared when we tried to switch accounts to another phone or add another account to the app we were using.
Tuoi Tre Online has also sent readers' questions to Zalo and is waiting for a response from this platform.
Zalo charges users to create new accountsSource: https://tuoitre.vn/dang-nhap-lai-tai-khoan-cung-bi-zalo-thu-phi-5-000-dong-20250216111019161.htm
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