The problem is
Not everyone is going to pay for a chat app
Wether it's because they got used to having it free to the point it makes no sense to pay for it, or because they can't pay because they don't have a payment method

I can't blame them that much, but they need to understand that everything comes with a cost
If the service is free, either it's sponsored by someone else (rare) or because you are the product, or because it has tight limits