LISTEN: Meta is bringing ads to WhatsApp
Will you have to watch ads before reading your chats?
In 2025, you will find advertisements on almost all apps and platforms.
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If you watch a YouTube video, you will most likely encounter several ads that interrupt your viewing.
Facebook, now Meta, bought WhatsApp over a decade ago and made many promises.
According to Techloy, the company promised that it would keep the platform private and ad-free.
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However, the organisation has now confirmed that WhatsApp will also feature ads.
No need to stress about having ads in your chats just yet, especially if you are only using the app for talking.
At least not yet.
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If you regularly use the 'Updates' tab, you might not notice the changes, as Meta says the "core messaging experience" will remain the same.
The most significant change will affect the Status updates and Channels.
Meta will be adding advertisements and new monetisation options. To serve relevant ads, they will use basic info such as your country, languages, and Channels you follow.
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This has raised some privacy concerns.
However, Meta emphasised that these targeted ads will only use basic info, and if you opt into Meta's Accounts Centre, your broader ad preferences apply, too.
Meta also insists that it will not scan chats and share phone numbers.
WhatsApp's founders, Jan Koum and Brian Acton, were famously anti-ads, and it's reported that their exit from Meta stemmed from the growing pressure to make WhatsApp more commercially viable.
Techloy also reports that Meta has been preparing for this move for years by allowing businesses to run click-to-WhatsApp ads on Facebook and Instagram to funnel users into the chats.
The app has also been making money through WhatsApp's business tools, reportedly earning between $500-million and $1-billion annually.
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Main image courtesy of iStock