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Zimbabwe’s WhatsApp Group Admin License Fees Depend On The Group Sizes: From $50 to $2,500

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Staff Writer

This week, Zimbabwe’s ICT Minister announced that WhatsApp group admins using their groups for business will have to apply for a license.

The application for a license is made to the Data Protection Authority, which for this law is the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (Potraz). The license fees to be paid depend on how many people’s data the WhatsApp admin has.

The different fees payable, from a minimum of US $50, are tiered depending on the number of people in the group. This information is in Statutory Instrument 155 of 2024: Cyber and Data Protection (Licensing of Data Controllers and Appointment of Data Protection Officers) Regulations, 2024.

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Here are the fees that WhatsApp Admins and other people that collect and process people’s data in Zimbabwe will have to pay:

Licence categoriesNumber of PeopleAnnual Fees (USD)Application Fees
Tier 1 minimum of 50 or a
maximum of 1,000 people		$50$0
Tier 2minimum of 1,001 or a
maximum of 100,000 people		$300$30
Tier 3 minimum of 100,001 or a
maximum of 500,000 people		$500$30
Tier 4 more than 500,000 people$2500$30

Frequently Asked Questions

What if it’s a family group and we just happen to discuss business?

The law right now says “personal, family or household affairs” are exempt from licensing.
Also exempt are law enforcement and journalistic, historical or archival purposes;

What if I lie about the number of people I have data for?

The law says you would have broken the law and can be jailed or mad e to pay a fine.

Do I need to pay anything if I have data for less than 50 people?

No. The licensing starts at 50 people or more.

Are these licenses just for WhatsApp Group Admins only?

No. The fees are not specifically for WhatsApp group admins, but for any data controller, including those who manage WhatsApp groups for business.

How will this be enforced?

It’s not clear yet. The announcement today came as a shock to a lot of Zimbabweans, and many are wondering the same.

Can the license fees be paid in Zig?

Yes, at the official exchange rate.

When is this law taking effect?

It’s already in effect. The Statutory Instrument was gazetted on 13 September and it gives business that process people’s data 6 months to comply. This means businesses have to get these licenses before 13 March 2025.

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76 comments

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  1. Again

    Mein Gott!!! As they were signing off starlink, they were rubbing their hands together knowing they were cooking this monstrosity! This is as stupid as wanting youtubers to get f’ing broadcaster licences! Fo sho, there’s no rest for the weary.
    🤨 Conspiracy time: They will demand Meta dox any user and the group they run once it touches the threshold, not for the money, which is a nice bonus, but as a means of asymmetrical censorship and intimidation.

    Reply
    1. more coming

      i might be off topic, but am waiting for a new starlink “local” license surprise to come into effect in Zim next year , same as a tv license type thing .. you have the kit you need a license – +/- USD 300 or more per year should do the trick !!

      Reply
    2. Unk

      Well I think so too,having group admin info is enough for them to exercise their will,I bet you there’s someway they’ll use this as a tool of mass destruction.

      Reply
    3. Anonymous

      youtubers pay tax for thos channels

      Reply
    4. Anonymous

      The LAW, kkkkk. Kupinza vanhu fear

      Reply
  2. Ltm

    Whatsappnis end to end encrypted hatina chekutya …hapana zvavanoita iyo ndiyo ichafa yakaloader manje 🤣🤣🤣

    Reply
    1. Inini

      They are protecting you from scam businesses that process your data. Read the law first. Even this article tried to say businesses not povo groups.

      Reply
      1. Anonymous

        You are clearly stupid

        Reply
        1. inini is stupid !

          lol, true that Inini clearly seems stoopid ~~

          Reply
        2. Tkay

          There are people who are actually making money off scamming people in these groups especially in zim where they know most people are looking for jobs.They ask them to pay exorbitant prices for job offers then they kick them out of the groups and block them so I think this at least solves that problem although it sadly puts legit businesses at a disadvantage

          Reply
      2. K2

        Uchafa uri rombe unepfungwa yechizanu zanu

        Reply
      3. Ah

        To be protected by paying money

        Reply
      4. James

        Let’s be clear: what data are you talking about being “protected”? Regular WhatsApp group chats aren’t some treasure trove of sensitive info. These laws are just a way to keep tabs on people under the guise of security. Think about the real impact on everyday users before jumping to defend this.

        If you’re so concerned about data protection, then tell me: can you classify the types of data that actually need protection under this law? And how does this compare to the requirements under GDPR? Let’s talk specifics rather than vague justifications.

        Reply
    2. Unconcerned citizen

      No,end to end yes but that info has to hit Whatsapp severs first,so unfortunately yes they can,with the right tools monitor groups,I think the loophole here is groups for business,so your chatroom where you slander certain individuals with your IP address in full view for everyone to see might just be safe,but notice I said might

      Reply
      1. Sarai mega

        Yu are also very stupid i see…… Its end to end encrypted….. Whatsapp (meta ) can not Access these chats unless you…the user allow them to…. That’s why when yu report someone…. Yu are asked to send y’all last 8 messages
        Second do yu think minister whatever his name can access data from a company who’s worth is larger the this entire country pliz…… Wake up…. This is the most embarrassing headline to eva come out of this country 😤

        Reply
        1. 👍

          Most of us (Zimboz) don’t know this, and we will be exploited and lied to… Whatsapp doesn’t belong to Zim gvt.

          Reply
      2. rubbish

        you are talking out of your a.s.s.h.o.l.e , another e.d.i.o.t. trying to instill fear !

        Reply
    3. Studio 263 ex actor😂

      They’ll succeed because if not all some groups will comply and that little s enough,si=gvt ponzi scheme, remember 2%,no most of us don’t but it’s there,this one is unforgettable because they sneaked up into the one thing Zimbabweans all over love and use, Whatsapp.
      Ihhhhh studio 263 look what you’ve done,you created a juggernaut

      Reply
    4. Just Shooketh

      Exactly…. and are they collecting money from group admins from other countries too?

      Reply
  3. Always Off Topic

    What’s that in the sky, Is it Superman, Is it a helicopter , Is it a UFO, no, it’s another Statutory Instrument on a routine carpet bombing mission, take cover!!!!!!

    Anyway, what’s the application fee for? Can the application be denied? If it is denied then what?

    Reply
  4. Lesley

    How does this apply to a group where the admin is based outside Zimbabwe?

    Reply
  5. Anonymous

    So the Gvnt propose making a fortune from a free service available worldwide.

    Whatsapp must close their group service in Zimbabwe so the Govnt cannot profit from them. Or think of another step forward.

    Reply
  6. Starford j Ngono

    My comment is simple, They must just stop whatever they are smoking.

    Reply
    1. Mainooesque

      Typo,I think you meant snorting

      Reply
  7. Kiks

    This is absurd and bizarre, how do they enforce such a law, there are way too many groups and channels, these officers they plan to appointment how will they manage all those millions of groups. Haaa uku ndiko kupererwa manj, ministry yakoniwa apa

    Reply
  8. Humba

    Telecel, remember when a sim card was 50c and it came with a dollar worth airtime,they had a bundle for a dollar where you’d get 200minutes to call any on network number also every dollar recharge meant you got a dollar worth of bonus airtime.Those were the days,I remember econet got Soo salty they banned Telecel users from calling their network,Econets response a dollar sim card which came with 50c worth airtime and a dollar bundle getting you only 20minutes,The monopoly in zim is crazy.

    Colonialism is a state of mind,where is the Zimbabwean film industry,they wonder how Nollywood was so successful,it’s because they went and watched their movies in the theater,in zimbabwean theatres the best you’ll get are marvel movies, brainwashing us showing our kids how they dress, talk, communicate.Where is the manufacturing industry,our tuckshop style us dollar charging grocery shops littered everywhere have at least 50% of imported products,don’t come at me with the bally house,charhons,mazoe argument without acknowledging dragon, switch, lays, kellogs.the best we’re doing are those home made dish washing liquids.Food for thought,taxing the economy never works

    Reply
  9. No one important

    Why exactly should people pay to the government taxes when WhatsApp does not belong to them? Does the owner of WhatsApp agree to such nonsense?

    Reply
  10. Anonymous

    I am curious about how they’ll enforce this. Will they have to check every single business device for the WhatsApp groups they’re an admin in? Wouldn’t they be violating the same law they’re trying to implement by invading people’s privacy? Because how else will they know without peering into my device say I am an admin of group with more than 200 users.

    Reply
    1. Anonymous

      I hadn’t finished😂.

      This whole thing is an invasion and violation of privacy. To be honest, there are many more countries with better cyber security than we do and we don’t see them being concerned that someone on a group might be able to see my phone number

      Reply
  11. Browse more phones

    If you send bulk emails you’ll need a license for that because you have too many people’s email addresses.

    Reply
  12. “Acting” minister of ICT

    i might be off topic, but am waiting for a new starlink “local” license surprise to come into effect in Zim next year , same as a tv license type thing .. you have the kit you need a license – +/- USD 300 or more per year should do the trick !!

    Reply
  13. Signal is good

    for free secure messaging (for mobile or desktop) use Signal. It does it all: group chat, voice chat, video chat, and mandatory end-to-end encryption. And it does it with software for not just Android and iOS (you need one of those to register for Signal), but also Windows, Mac, and Linux. Perhaps best of all, it’s owned by a non-profit with no incentive to sell off your data.

    Reply
    1. Baba VaGarnacho

      Nothing is free best believe they have your data and are selling it,you just don’t know it

      Reply
    2. Rigor

      Revelation 6:6, A measure of wheat for a penny. Money worshiping and the suffering of the masses. Surely this is being full filled under our watch.

      Reply
  14. Zeisstre

    Telegram takaenda takaenda

    Reply
  15. Robert Ndlovu

    This is not enforceable innit present format.

    This is not what we envisaged this bill was crafted a decade ago.

    Besides how do you force a Whatsapp Admin using a UK or SA number to comply ?

    And who are the Hon. Minister advisor ?

    Reply
  16. AGENT

    uyu arikuda kubhadharisa vanhu whatsapp hachadi basa imbozvitry muwone muzim hamugariki

    Reply
  17. Anonymous

    This country is now becoming hard to leave soon will end up paying for cellphone radio haayi l surrender

    Reply
  18. Wokenman

    Next time you go to SA just get ma free lines anopiwa pa border aya. Register that number on WhatsApp, make that your group admin. You’re welcome 😉

    Reply
  19. Anonymous

    Seems Potraz ajnt much informed about END TO END ENCRYPTION.

    Reply
  20. WHO

    Seems Potraz ajnt much informed about END TO END ENCRYPTION.

    Reply
  21. BluGhost-AM

    Tiudzei zvedu kuti todzibhadharira kupi 🙂

    Reply
  22. Maskiri

    This minister will never slowdown on stupidity.

    Reply
  23. Truck Driver

    Guys this is meant for businesses. Vema business vanotoona zvitori bho. I hope such licenced groups will be verified by WhatsApp to let the public know that this is a official group for businesses*** tanzwa neku joiner tuma group twenhema especially tuma Ponzi scheme groups utwu.

    Reply
  24. @mhungu84

    So what else about me can I share in our WhatsApp group, if you really look at it we are all in one group albeit not on WhatsApp, samething really.

    My niece is called Monalisa. We grew up together in my sister’s household. I used to be tough on her, a little tough love never hurt anyone. Grade 1-2 she was at SOS Childrens Village before she moved to the Dominican Convent in town. I think the name of the school is Hermain Germainer, excuse the spelling, muscle memory.

    I would collect her in the afternoon from school. Take her bag from her and ask her to keep pace. She was still growing so he would struggle to keep up. I made sure once we got to the main road I would stop, hold her hand and cross together. Then once on the other side, I would pick up the pace again, while watching she doesn’t fall to far behind. This would go on until we got home.

    She became Junior Mayor of Harare, which made me very proud. She turned out all right.🙏

    Reply
  25. @mhungu84

    Panashe also my sister’s child is the baby of the family, but now he is a man. He is an athlete, I think those who grew up with him know the legend of Vyper🐍 A sprinter and a rugby player.

    I tried to get him to go to Prince Edward School after he passed his O Levels. He got in, but circumstances didn’t play in our favour, I think my sister called it, ‘lack of vision’. My reasoning was that he wasn’t going to be noticed by scouts at St. Francis of Asissi so PE would have been the perfect platform for him to go professional in either sport, that and also exposure, he could have played for Tigers that lad, easily. Makes two of us excluded from Tigers tryouts because of funding, that’s life.

    When I took him to Old Hararians for practice, everyone was like who is that kid. The kid who I used to take to pre school in Mainway Meadows on my gap year was now a man.

    There is this thing that used to happen before, which we tried hard to fight on the Lets Talk Rugby /Zimbabwe Rugby Forum Facebook page. Competition for the Zimbabwe U18 rugby team is fierce. Sometimes cheque books have to come out, not all the time, do not get me wrong on this. Its an investment, a pathway to getting a scholarship in a foreign country. Unfortunately, lads like Carlos Matemai who come from Mbare and struggle in public speaking find it harder than most to make a team they should be a shoe in. Driller went one better, they overlooked him for Craven Week, he didn’t let that stop him. He played for Pitbulls, made Sables, played well at UWC and earned himself a professional contract at the Sharks. Churchill Bulldog if I am not mistaken, he refused to let anything stop him, one of the lads.

    One day, we may evolve to have an NFL type trials, they have a specific term for it but it eludes me, I write as I thoughts come to me, numbers do not lie! Say what you want but in the states stats matter big time, you will have outliers like Brady off course, but if you beat everyone at the 40 yard dash or bench press, chances are high you will be drafted into the NFL, even if you come from the Projects (Gullyside) or Hawaii like Tuva or Zimbabwe like Maponga. 🏈🏉🌴

    Reply
  26. Minutemen

    Zimbabweans, muchine nharo here kuti takangodzidza to read and write only

    Reply
    1. Colen

      And to repeat what we are told 🤣🤣

      Reply
  27. Colen

    What if it’s a church

    Reply
  28. Anonymous

    This has gone too far. They did not develop WhatsApp. Internet bundles already are expensive in Zimbabwe, and here they are talking about licensing WhatsApp group admins. What’s next then? – you gonna limit the number of calls I make per day and say if you exceed them you pay? You gonna make us pay kutoraramira muno muZim chaiko???
    Find better ways to generate money as a country not kudzvanyirira vanhu already things are tough.

    Reply
    1. Humba

      You are clearly misinformed and have a premature mind,being a citizen in a country you pay,it’s called tax, whether you knew it or not at every turn you pay tax, airtime has an element of tax,zesa water etc,nothing and nowhere is free

      Reply
    2. Anonymous

      chinyika chekumama

      Reply
    3. sude

      chinyika chekumama

      Reply
  29. Erajo

    Enda unozvisungirira, whatsapp hausi YeZanu pf… Majaira kudya zvemahara kunge honye. Iwewe nemhuri yako ndimi muchabhadharira mwana wese ma licence iwawo

    Reply
  30. Tich

    Where is the agreement between ICT and What’s app to charge a third party product fees for use without the written authority. My what’s app is my agreement between what’s app and I. ICT does not own software or platform for what’s app to charge anyone foe using it. This is illegal and a breach of privacy along with many other laws. We might as well print money and charge our own rates it’s a cowboy country

    Reply
  31. Lee

    So will this include Facebook Market as well?

    Reply
  32. Concerned citizen

    It best people resort to using Signal

    Reply
  33. Bunch of fools

    Typical Zanu Government. Trying to monetize an app that they don’t even own. Fools

    Reply
  34. Asante

    Watsapp is not a Zimbabwean gvt app so why charge people?

    Reply
    1. Makudo Mumunda

      Taura hako. Aya ave makorokoza muvanhu kkk

      Reply
  35. Anonymous

    But muri kuziva ere kuti nyika haina magetsi ne industry?

    Reply
  36. Oss

    Protecting our porn groups,really??

    Reply
  37. Tinashë

    This is stupid….. Spam kuita sei imari irikuda kukamiwa

    Reply
  38. Sadombo Munyuki

    So will Telegram and Signal be next? Why stop only at WhatsApp? These people are clueless. This is very embarrassing really.

    Reply
  39. Makudo Mumunda

    Uuuu! Zvakango woma hazvo kuita freedom muZim after independence.
    Uyewo mumba chaimo, marriage ikawanda mitemo haimakidze kugara.

    Reply
  40. Rejoice Ngwenya

    Why is Tendayi Mavetera so desperate to be relevant? WhatsApp is a Meta innovation, so if GoZ want to make money out of a comms application, they should write their own and charge those who subscribed to it. This government does not tire from oppressing its citizens. Freedom of association, assembly and information is under siege.

    Reply
  41. Teutonic Knight… ✝️✖️🔥

    ‘For we do not battle against flesh and blood but the principalities…’💉 As a Christian what does that verse mean?

    To me, it means that the Bible acknowledges the presence of a spiritual realm you cannot touch or see but it exists and that you have to do battle with.

    When exorcising demons, you call their name. Not all demons are that weak. There are demons on a national and global scale. How would you confront such powerful deities?

    Strength in numbers and will power, alone you cannot fight such powerful principalities. The one weapon they have is fear. For you have not been given a spirit of fear the bible says, fear is the lifeblood of witches, demons and foul spirits. When you come to them with the armour of God and the word of God the double edged sword, David can defeat Goliath, because faith, training and skill can conquer all.

    Do you want to live in fear forever or do you want that burden oit of you life for good. The choice is up to you! 🙏

    Reply
  42. Junya

    Techzim please filter macomments on this site we all know it’s zero rated but it’s kind of getting out of hand tinodawo kuverenga ma opinions evanhu vapenyu,ava vanonyepera kuoenha block maIP adress

    Reply
  43. Anonymous

    Chasara kunzi kwaane license yeZimbabwean oxygen,vanhu vestarlink ngwarirai POTRAZ next year ndimi

    Reply
  44. Paut Atredes

    A little filtering of the comments,they caught the culprit and I’m happy.
    This is a letter to my competition.

    Dearly Departed
    Refrain from using my name again, they’re onto you,they have your IPs and your location.Its only a matter of time before they catch you slipping.

    Your truly
    Alter Ego

    Reply
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