WhatsApp has been one of the most popular messaging apps for many years with an estimated amount of 1.5 billion users globally. What differs between WhatsApp and many other apps is that the app has remained ads-less throughout the years, but this is all about to change.
When Facebook bought over WhatsApp in 2014 for $19 million, WhatsApp’s co-founder Brian Acton was regretful to have sold his users’ privacy for a larger profit and had been uncomfortable with Facebook’s constant pressure to monetize WhatsApp with targeted ads.
Though the company has been against ads all these times, Acton left the company last year and this year WhatsApp vice-president Chris Daniels confirmed that ads will soon appear in WhatsApp.
Image credit : Krook News
According to Daniels, the ads will be appearing in the Status section that is similar to Facebook and Instagram’s Story function, allowing users to share photos, videos, texts and links with their contacts which will disappear 24 hours later. The ads will serve as a monetisation mode in addition to providing opportunities for business to reach WhatsApp users. This was not the first attempt to monetise the app though, as there was a $1 per year charge long before Facebook acquired WhatsApp that was inconsistent and removed after proving inefficient.
As for the current Status ads, it is reported that it will begin early next year, though the exact date is not confirmed. The emergence of ads might just encourage users to switch to ads-free messaging apps such as Telegram and Signal.
