WhatsApp explores ads in the chat app as Meta seeks a revenue boost. According to those who know the situation, discussions are in their early stages and could involve membership fees.
Please use the sharing options available through the share button at the top or side of articles. Copying articles for distribution infringes on FT.com’s terms of service and copyright policy. To purchase more rights, send an email to licensing@ft.com.
Subscribers may transmit up to 10 or 20 monthly reports using the gift article service. Here is where you may find more details. WhatsApp explores ads in the chat app.
As parent firm Meta looks to monetize the world’s most widely used messaging service, WhatsApp is considering a new feature to put ads in the app for the first time. This has sparked internal debate.
Please use the sharing options available through the share button at the top or side of articles. Copying articles for distribution infringes on FT.com’s terms of service and copyright policy. To purchase more rights, send an email to licensing@ft.com.
Subscribers may transmit up to 10 or 20 monthly reports using the gift article service. Here is where you may find more details.
Situation teams
According to three people who know the situation. Teams at Meta have been debating whether to display advertising in lists of conversations with contacts on the WhatsApp chat interface. Still, no decisions have been made as of yet.
According to a person with direct knowledge of the conversations, the idea has been highly regarded within the company due to worries that it will alienate users.
According to two sources, Meta is also considering charging a monthly fee to use the app without advertisements, but many insiders oppose the idea.
Before Facebook paid $19 billion to acquire WhatsApp in 2014, its co-founder Brian Acton had declared, No advertisements! Don’t play! Avoid tricks! This is the company’s motto.
Please use the sharing options available through the share button at the top or side of articles. Copying articles for distribution infringes on FT.com’s terms of service and copyright policy. To purchase more rights, send an email to licensing@ft.com.
Subscribers may transmit up to 10 or 20 monthly reports using the gift article service. Here is where you may find more details.
The conversations to depart from that steadfast stance are still in their early stages. However, they show Meta’s willingness to capitalize on one of the few venues it still offers without advertising.
According to WhatsApp,
According to WhatsApp, “We can’t keep track of every conversation someone had within our organization, but we aren’t testing this; we’re working on it. and it’s not at all our plan.”WhatsApp explores ads in the chat app
WhatsApp’s CEO, Will Cathcart, stated on Twitter on Friday: “This @FT article is untrue. We don’t carry this out.
The conversations to depart from that steadfast stance are still in their early stages. However, they show Meta’s willingness to capitalize on one of the few venues it still offers without advertising.
According to WhatsApp, “We can’t keep track of every conversation someone had within our organization, but we aren’t testing this; we’re working on it, and it’s not at all our plan.”
WhatsApp’s CEO, Will Cathcart, stated on Twitter on Friday: “This @FT article is untrue. We don’t carry this out.
The conversations to depart from that steadfast stance are still in their early stages. However, they show Meta’s willingness to capitalize on one of the few venues it still offers without advertising.
According to WhatsApp. “We can’t keep track of every conversation someone has within our organization, but we aren’t testing this; we’re working on it, and it’s not at all our plan.”
Whatsapp CEO
WhatsApp’s CEO, Will Cathcart. Stated on Twitter on Friday: “This @FT article is untrue. We don’t carry this out.
Please use the sharing options available through the share button at the top or side of articles. The FT.com T&Cs and Copyright Policy are broken when articles are copied and shared with others. To purchase more rights. Send an email to licensing@ft.com.
Subscribers may transmit up to 10 or 20 monthly reports using the gift article service. Here is where you may find more details.
According to Ed East, CEO of the advertising agency Billion Dollar Boy, there are undoubtedly many opportunities for WhatsApp advertising. He claimed that while it would be an “appealing prospect” for advertisers, users might find it “intrusive.”
Please use the sharing options available through the share button at the top or side of articles. The FT.com T&Cs and Copyright Policy are broken when articles are copied and shared with others. To purchase more rights, send an email to licensing@ft.com.
Subscribers may transmit up to 10 or 20 monthly reports using the gift article service. Here is where you may find more details.
Two hundred small businesses use WhatsApp regularly. And it recently tested a tool that enables companies to send direct marketing messages to consumers who have agreed to receive them.
Advertisements
If the new feature is implemented, all WhatsApp users will see advertisements next to discussions with friends and family.
Please use the sharing options available through the share button at the top or side of articles. The FT.com T&Cs and Copyright Policy are broken when articles are copied and shared with others. To purchase more rights, send an email to licensing@ft.com.
Customers may transfer up to 10 or 20 monthly reports using the gift article service. More information can be found here.
The interface would look similar to how ads are interspersed among chats in Facebook Messenger and emails on Gmail, said a person with close knowledge of the internal discussions. The ads would not appear within the chat conversations themselves.
Please use the sharing tools found via the share button at the top or side of articles. Copying articles to share with others breaches FT.com’s T&Cs and Copyright Policy. Email licensing@ft.com to buy additional rights. Subscribers may use the gift article service to transfer up to 10 or 20 monthly reports. Here is where you may find more details.
Advertisements
An individual with direct knowledge of the internal discussions claimed that the interface would resemble how advertisements are inserted into Gmail emails and Facebook Messenger chats. The chats themselves would not contain the advertisements. WhatsApp explores ads in the chat app.
Please use the sharing options available through the share button at the top or side of articles. The FT.com T&Cs and Copyright Policy are broken when articles are copied and shared with others. To purchase more rights, send an email to licensing@ft.com.
Subscribers may transmit up to 10 or 20 monthly reports using the gift article service. Here is where you may find more details.
One person noted that senior executives are concerned that adopting this strategy may impair the WhatsApp experience and lead consumers to other free alternatives.
Mobile app analyst Data.ai says WhatsApp is far more popular than Instagram and Facebook Messenger, with 2.23 billion monthly active users. Hannah Murphy, Daniel Thomas, and Chloe Cornish contributed more reporting.
The spelling of Brian Acton’s name has been updated in this article. WhatsApp CEO Will Cathcart, the head of WhatsApp, disputes rumors that the messaging service is looking at monetizing via ads. He stated the following:
Messaging software
The president of WhatsApp, Will Cathcart, denied media reports on Friday that claimed the Meta-owned instant messaging service was examining alternatives to monetizing through the introduction of ads.
An earlier FT story claimed that Meta, the parent company of WhatsApp, was considering introducing advertisements to its messaging software to boost revenue.
However, Cathcart took it to X and debunked reports that WhatsApp was looking into running ads in its chat service. He stated, “This @FT story is false,” in his most recent post, which included the FT article. We don’t carry this out. Also, Brian’s name appears to be misspelled.WhatsApp explores ads in the chat app
According to a previous story by FT, teams at Meta have been debating whether to display advertisements in lists of discussions with contacts on the WhatsApp chat screen. However, final decisions have yet to be taken, according to people familiar with the situation who spoke to the outlet.
According to the article, Meta was considering charging a monthly fee to use the ad-free app, but many insiders were against it. WhatsApp, however, has refuted every one of these claims.
In addition, according to Reuters, WhatsApp told the Financial Times, “We can’t account for every conversation someone had in our company, but we are not testing this; we are working on it, and it’s not our plan at all.”
Meta owns the company.
Meanwhile, WhatsApp has made its WhatsApp Channels function available in India. Over 150 nations will get the new service, which brings users private updates from businesses. Sports teams, artists, and thought leaders they can follow. Meta owns the company.
The business claims that WhatsApp Channels are an in-app, one-way broadcast mechanism.
The following are WhatsApp Channels’ main features:
Users can find channels that have previously been filtered based on their country using the enhanced directory. They can also view the most popular and active. And new media.
Users can respond with emojis to leave comments and see an overall response count. However, followers won’t be able to see the emoji you replied to.
When you forward an update to a chat or group, it will always include a link-sourcing channel so people may learn about the channel’s information and follow you.
Significantly, WhatsApp Channels are now being implemented. However, not everyone can use it just yet. The Meta-owned platform is releasing additional features for those who have access. Certain users might be unable to access some functionalities, like channel creation.
