Meta introduces advertising in WhatsApp and promises to make it unobtrusive

American technology company Meta plans to monetize the WhatsApp messenger by introducing advertisements in it. The developer promises that the main part of communication in the messenger will remain uncluttered by advertising. This is reported by UNN with reference to the Financial Times.

Details

WhatsApp reported that in the coming months, a new feature will be introduced around the world - advertising will be displayed in the "Status" section on the "Updates" tab, which is located on the left side of the screen. The company stressed that in this way advertising will not intersect with the main chats.

This was a long-standing request that we received from companies, and they care about preserving people's personal space 

Meta noted that now there is space for advertising that will not interfere with personal communication. According to company representatives, the main part of communication will remain untouched.

People want to use WhatsApp not only for messaging with close friends and family, and looking back on our previous experience, that's why we introduced this "Updates" tab... If you use WhatsApp for personal messages and never go to this tab, you will not see (ads – ed.)

Meta emphasized that messages, calls and statuses will remain encrypted. At the same time, parameters such as geolocation, device language, channel subscriptions and interaction with marketing content will be used to personalize advertising.

Additionally

In addition to advertising, WhatsApp plans to introduce a paid subscription feature for channels – feeds of exclusive content from authors. Companies will also be able to promote their channels among the audience for an additional fee.

According to WhatsApp Product Director Alice Newton-Rex, statuses in the app are "the most used product for stories in the world." According to her, the "Updates" tab attracts 1 billion 500 million users every day.

In April, Meta released financial results that exceeded analysts' expectations. Despite concerns about the impact of US President Donald Trump's customs policy on the economic situation, the company's advertising business is showing steady growth. Launching advertising on WhatsApp can significantly increase the profitability of the platform.

Let us remind you

WhatsApp is working on implementing one of the most anticipated features — the ability to create a unique username. This means that soon you will not have to share your phone number to start a chat. The innovation is already being tested in the beta version of the application and may appear in the near future.

Meta has made significant investments in the artificial intelligence startup Scale AI, after which the latter's founder will join the technology giant.