WhatsApp is Getting Ads, But It's Not as Bad as it Sounds
Key Highlights :
WhatsApp is Meta’s (then Facebook’s) most expensive purchase to date, with nearly $20 billion paid in 2014. It’s also the most difficult one to monetize. The app is free, and everything in it is end-to-end encrypted. Placing personalized ads based on user-generated content and interests isn’t possible. But Facebook is looking to place ads inside WhatsApp. That’s always been the case, and WhatsApp’s head, Will Cathcart, confirmed as much in a recent interview.
However, WhatsApp won’t put ads inside your chat inbox. Instead, you might see commercials in the status or channels. The latter is a feature that Facebook seems to have copied from Telegram, which allows people to create communities inside WhatsApp. Before you get started with channels, you should know that’s probably the only area in WhatsApp where texting isn’t protected by end-to-end encryption.
Last month, Cathcart denied that ads are coming to WhatsApp, as a report from The Information claimed. However, Cathcart had to adapt his response when talking to Brazilian media. “The article claimed that we were going to put ads in the inbox. We’re not doing that, we’re not discussing it. We don’t think that’s the right model. People, when they open their inbox, don’t want to see advertising,” the high-ranking WhatsApp exec said.
Meanwhile, Facebook has been rolling out paid versions of Facebook and Instagram in Europe, where local privacy laws are getting tougher. It's likely that Facebook is using these as bait for consumers. Rather than paying the monthly fee, they’d agree to see ads. And Facebook looks to obtain explicit consent from European Facebook and Instagram users for personalized ads. Users in Europe are already seeing such prompts in action, and Facebook seems to be steering customers to the ad-supported apps rather than the premium models. That’s to say that rather than charge you for them, Facebook will also show you ads.
WhatsApp won’t be an exception. Cathcart clarified to The Verge that WhatsApp will remain free, and the main messaging experience will be ad-free. “The reason I qualified the answer [to the article] is that there could be ads in other places placements or statuses,” the exec added. “For example, channels could charge people to subscribe, they could be exclusive to paid members, or the owners might want to promote the channel. But, no, we’re not going to put ads in the inbox.”
Facebook has two ways of monetizing the chat app that do not involve ads in WhatsApp. Both concern enterprise use. Facebook charges businesses a fee for allowing them to chat with customers via WhatsApp. Also, Facebook might offer businesses that rely on WhatsApp for communication with consumers other paid services, like Facebook and Instagram ads that point to a company’s WhatsApp presence.
Cathcart also addressed the WhatsApp AI and dropped an interesting gem about the experience. The WhatsApp AI will give you information from the internet without you having to browse the web manually. That is, Facebook wants to keep you inside the app with the help of AI rather than losing your attention. It’s unclear if Facebook will monetize this with ads.
With all that in mind, it’s unclear when Facebook will roll out ads in WhatsApp. But at least you’ve been warned to expect them in some WhatsApp experiences. While ads are coming to WhatsApp, it’s reassuring to know that the main messaging experience will remain ad-free. Ads in the status and channels are still an annoyance, but at least it’s not as bad as it could have been.
