WhatsApp is launching three new ad features in a global roll-out across the messaging app.
The Meta-owned platform says the new ads will not be shown in the same place as people’s private chats, nor will the contents of their messages, which are encrypted, be used to decide which ads to display.
WhatsApp will instead use the country, city and language of the user, as well as how they interact with other ads and which channels they follow, to drive suggested content.
But people who have chosen to link their WhatsApp account to Facebook or Instagram will see more personalised ads.
The new ad features will appear in a section called Updates, which is a separate tab at the bottom of the app.
WhatsApp claims to have 1.5 billion users globally.
Businesses with channels will be able to choose to promote ads in the Updates section to attract new followers, and also charge a subscription to access extra content.
WhatsApp will eventually take a 10% commission of that fee, and there may also be extra costs on top of that taken at the app store level, depending on the size of the business.
Firms will also be able to advertise in the form of a status update, which looks similar to an Instagram story and will link through to start a chat if clicked on.
Social media expert Matt Navarra told the BBC that Meta is “laying the foundation for WhatsApp to finally become a monetisable platform at scale”.
But “monetising the periphery” of WhatsApp, while keeping personal chats private, would not be without risk for the company, he added.
This could particularly be the case in markets like the UK and Europe, he said, where the app is viewed primarily as a messaging tool with less appetite for content feeds or adverts.
“Any perception that the app is becoming noisy or Facebook-ified will spark backlash,” he said.
‘Natural extension’
It’s no coincidence that the new features bring WhatsApp more in line with Meta’s other platforms, Facebook and Instagram.
“Obviously there’s overlap,” said WhatsApp boss Will Cathcart.
“We have stories on Instagram and stories on WhatsApp, and we now have a way for businesses to promote themselves in both, and we think that’s a good thing.”
He said he believed the move was a “natural extension of messaging services” and not dissimilar to features of rival apps such as Snapchat and Telegram.
For Mr Navarra, it also reflects a wider shift in the social media landscape.
“The feed is dying, public sharing is down, people are retreating into DMs and Stories in small groups,” he said.
“Meta’s trying to turn WhatsApp into a platform without users realising it and if they move too fast or it starts to feel like another ad network, people might disengage or maybe worse, distrust the app.”
WhatsApp angered users recently with the introduction of a permanent button for Meta’s AI tool, which cannot be deactivated or deleted, and Mr Cathcart said users who did not want to see ads or follow channels would not be forced to.
“I want to stress this won’t affect your inbox,” he said.
“If you’re only using WhatsApp for messaging, you’re not going to see this.”
He said the Update section of the app was “not particularly popular” in the UK but was used more in other parts of the world, and the firm would “look at the feedback” about the unremovable AI tool, but there were many other features of the app which were also permanent.
“You can’t delete the channels button, you can’t delete the Updates button, you can’t delete the calls button,” he said.
“I mean, we also don’t want to have a service that has lots of settings… that’s complexity too.”
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