WhatsApp plans to show ads delays until FBs Unification of platform completes
A media report stated that WhatsApp is to serve ads in the future. The new development comes soon after a report claimed that WhatsApp's parent company Facebook decided not to put ads on the instant messaging app, which has over 150 crore users worldwide.
Updated: Apr 24, 2020 17:11 IST
WhatsApp plans to show ads, FaceBook delays its rollout
In 2018, the Menlo Park, California-based company announced that instead of showing ads on the platform directly, the company would leverage WhatsApp Status updates to serve paid content.
Facebook hasn't planned to completely go away with advertisements on WhatsApp and reportedly suspended the push to bring ads to avoid “antagonizing regulators.”
On how the advertising model would be implemented, the report mentions that Facebook would use phone numbers as the determiners to "match" Facebook and WhatsApp accounts and serve targeted ads to users. It would come into force once the company will complete the unification of its messaging platforms, namely Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, and Instagram.
Ads on WhatsApp Status are sure
It is not sure if Facebook is planning to sell ads directly on WhatsApp. In 2019, Facebook showcased WhatsApp Status as a solution to monetize the platform with ads at the annual Facebook Marketing Summit in the Netherlands. It was similar to how ads are served through Instagram Stories since January 2017. The company reportedly revealed that Status ads would launch sometime in 2020.
The report also said that “ads in Status remains a long-term opportunity for WhatsApp.” This is more than enough to presume that while WhatsApp would one day be used to serve ads, either directly or indirectly, that day wouldn't come soon.
