WhatsApp messaging application installed on the phone, photo: Nicolas Economo-Nurphoto / Shutterstock Editorial / Profimedia Images
The WhatsApp messenger platform, belonging to the META, announced on Monday the introduction of new advertising spaces in the next period, an important change for this application that has not been affected by advertising so far, AFP, taken over by AGERPRES.
Unlike Facebook, Instagram or other meta platforms, WhatsApp has preserved an almost completely devoid of advertising economic model, after its acquisition of the Meta group in 2014. The application is particularly popular for ease of use and functions (audio and video calls, voice messages, etc.), encrypted messages and apparent commercial neutrality.
So far, the only advertising formats consist of promotional messages sent through the WhatsApp Business tool to users who had given their consent, as well as some experiments on certain markets.
The company specifies that the new advertising spaces will appear exclusively in the “News” tab, which groups “state” and “channels” and is used daily by about 1.5 billion people worldwide. The new functions include paid subscriptions to certain channels, promoting channels in the director of discovery and integrated advertisements, the equivalent of Instagram Stories.
“We have been talking for years about our intention to create an activity that does not interrupt personal conversations and we believe that the news tab is the right place for these new tools,” the company announced.
Insurances on privacy
Users who use WhatsApp exclusively to talk to friends and family will not see any change; This tab can also be disabled in their settings.
“I want to be very clear: your personal messages, state calls and updates will remain encrypted end-end. This means that no one, not even we, can never be used for advertising,” stressed Nikila Srinivasan, Vice-President at Meta, during a press conference.
The company has committed to sell and never share phone numbers with advertising agents and has ensured that information from personal chats, calls or groups will not be used to direct ads.
The advertisements displayed in the News tab will be based exclusively on basic data, such as the approximate location, the phone language and the activity in this area of the messenger service. Meta follows revenue from the enormous users of WhatsApp users, which counts over two billion monthly active users.
Industry analysts have long speculated that the company based in California will eventually add advertising to the messaging service, given its size and involvement rates. However, the launch calendar for the new functions was not specified.
