We're going to have to pay for Whatsup starting next year no? That just sucks. It's not a huge money by any means but I don't have any way to do it. So 1 more month of it!
You get a trial subscription when you first start using it. It varies from when you needed to pay. Strangely for me, they've been extending the trial period for years. Haven't paid even once all this time.
I've seen such rumours going around for months, but never come to anything. Afaik, you don't need to pay until your Service Expiration date has passed. You can find that in your Account settings in the app itself.