Meta gets ads on WhatsApp

The Meta-owned instant messaging app WhatsApp, in a blog post, announced plans to introduce ads within the app for the very first time, going as far back as 2018. This will mark WhatsApp’s significant shift in its monetisation strategy. With over two billion monthly active users, it will now begin exhibiting ads in the ‘Updates’ tab — which includes both ‘Status’ and ‘Channels’.

WhatsApp will use “limited info” such as the country, language, and followed Channels to personalise ads. Additionally, with monthly Channel subscriptions, users can support their favourite WhatsApp Channels, alongside Promoted Channels.

Since its acquisition by Meta in 2014, WhatsApp has been an integral part of the company’s wider ecosystem, which includes Facebook and Instagram — both of which already have extensive advertising models.

WhatsApp’s Update section adds three monetisation features:

—Paid Channel Subscriptions

Content creators get an option to charge a monthly fee for access to their exclusive content on their channels.

—Promoted Channels in Discovery

WhatsApp will introduce paid promotion mechanisms, allowing selective channels to gain visibility in the app’s Discovery section.

—Ads in the Status Section

 Ads will also appear in the Status section, which is WhatsApp’s version of Stories.

Note, these newly added features will appear only on the Updates tab, away from your personal chats. This states that there will be no change to your experience at all if you are only using WhatsApp for chatting.

The company said in its official statement, said, “Like everything we do at WhatsApp, we’ve built these features in the most private way possible. Your personal messages, calls, and statuses remain end-to-end encrypted, meaning no one (not even us) can see or hear them”.

Benefits for Users

·   Channel subscriptions let users support their favourite channels and receive exclusive updates by paying a monthly fee.

·   Users can discover new channels when searching through the directory.

·   WhatsApp will give admins the ability to promote their Channel's visibility.

·   Ads will only be displayed in the Updates tab and nowhere in the personal chats.

·   Absolutely no change in your personal chatting experience, with end-to-end encryption security guaranteed.

The instant messaging client WhatsApp has clearly emphasised that “[It] will never sell or share your phone number to advertising companies”. Further, it clarified, users' personal messages, calls and groups will not be used to personalise the ads.

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