WhatsApp introduces in-app ads for the first time
16 June 2025 23:08
SAN FRANCISCO (THE NEW YORK TIMES NEWS SERVICE)When Facebook bought WhatsApp for $19 billion in 2014, the messaging app had a clear focus. No ads, no games and no gimmicks. Now that is set to change.On Monday, WhatsApp said it would start showing ads inside its app for the first time.The promotions will appear only in an area of the app called Updates, which is used by around 1.5 billion people a day.WhatsApp will collect some data on users to target the ads, such as location and the device's default language, but it will not touch the contents of messages or whom users speak with. The company added that it had no plans to place ads in chats and personal messages."Thinking through the lens of privacy was incredibly important for how we thought about bringing these features to market,' said Nikila Srinivasan, a vice president of product management at WhatsApp. "Your personal messages, calls and statuses, they will remain end-to-end encrypted.'In-app ads are a significant change from WhatsApp's original philosophy. Jan Koum and Brian Acton, who founded WhatsApp in 2009, were committed to building a simple and quick way for friends and family to communicate with end-to-end encryption, a method of keeping texts, photos, videos and phone calls inaccessible by third parties. Both left the company seven years ago.Since then, Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Facebook, now Meta, has focused on WhatsApp's growth and user privacy while also melding the app into the company's other products, including Instagram and Messenger. Putting ads into WhatsApp opens a lucrative opportunity for Meta while potentially raising questions about privacy.In a statement, Will Cathcart, the head of WhatsApp, assured users that the app would remain secure and guard their privacy."We work hard to protect the privacy of people's communications,' he said. "Some people only use WhatsApp for private chats and calls, and nothing is changing about that.'WhatsApp also said it was introducing paid monthly subscriptions for content creators, similar to offerings from competitors including X, YouTube and Twitch.
The app will also let users and businesses advertise their "channels,' which are one-way broadcasts that can be sent to large groups of people.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Al Etihad
11 hours ago
- Al Etihad
WhatsApp introduces in-app ads for the first time
16 June 2025 23:08 SAN FRANCISCO (THE NEW YORK TIMES NEWS SERVICE)When Facebook bought WhatsApp for $19 billion in 2014, the messaging app had a clear focus. No ads, no games and no gimmicks. Now that is set to Monday, WhatsApp said it would start showing ads inside its app for the first promotions will appear only in an area of the app called Updates, which is used by around 1.5 billion people a will collect some data on users to target the ads, such as location and the device's default language, but it will not touch the contents of messages or whom users speak with. The company added that it had no plans to place ads in chats and personal messages."Thinking through the lens of privacy was incredibly important for how we thought about bringing these features to market,' said Nikila Srinivasan, a vice president of product management at WhatsApp. "Your personal messages, calls and statuses, they will remain end-to-end encrypted.'In-app ads are a significant change from WhatsApp's original philosophy. Jan Koum and Brian Acton, who founded WhatsApp in 2009, were committed to building a simple and quick way for friends and family to communicate with end-to-end encryption, a method of keeping texts, photos, videos and phone calls inaccessible by third parties. Both left the company seven years then, Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Facebook, now Meta, has focused on WhatsApp's growth and user privacy while also melding the app into the company's other products, including Instagram and Messenger. Putting ads into WhatsApp opens a lucrative opportunity for Meta while potentially raising questions about a statement, Will Cathcart, the head of WhatsApp, assured users that the app would remain secure and guard their privacy."We work hard to protect the privacy of people's communications,' he said. "Some people only use WhatsApp for private chats and calls, and nothing is changing about that.'WhatsApp also said it was introducing paid monthly subscriptions for content creators, similar to offerings from competitors including X, YouTube and Twitch. The app will also let users and businesses advertise their "channels,' which are one-way broadcasts that can be sent to large groups of people.
Khaleej Times
17 hours ago
- Khaleej Times
WhatsApp to introduce ads in app with three new features
WhatsApp announced Monday it will introduce its boldest advertising features yet, marking a significant shift for the messaging platform that has largely remained ad-free since its launch. The move is a sensitive one for WhatsApp, whose chief firmly denied a report in 2023 that said the Meta-owned app was exploring advertisements as it sought to boost revenue. Unlike Facebook, Instagram, and other social platforms, WhatsApp has maintained minimal advertising since Meta acquired it in 2014. Users and regulators have kept a close watch on whether the social media giant would seek to monetise an app that was primarily used to chat with friends and family, and was appreciated for its privacy. Until now, the platform's advertising consisted primarily of WhatsApp Business promotional messages to opted-in customers and some limited Status ad testing in select markets. The messaging app has no display ads in chat feeds or conversations. The company said it will roll out three new monetisation features exclusively within its Updates tab, which houses both Channels and Status features used by 1.5 billion people daily and became widely available last year. The company stressed that users who only use WhatsApp for personal messaging will see no changes to their experience, as all new features are confined to the Updates tab that can be deactivated in the settings. "We've been talking about our plans to build a business that does not interrupt your personal chats for years, and we believe the Updates tab is the right place for these new features to work," WhatsApp said. The new features include paid channel subscriptions, promoted channels in the Discovery directory, and advertisements within Status, WhatsApp's version of Instagram Stories. WhatsApp emphasised that the new advertising features are designed with privacy safeguards. "I want to be really clear about one thing: Your personal messages, calls and statuses will remain end-to-end encrypted. This means no one, not even us, can see or hear them, and they cannot be used for ads," Nikila Srinivasan, vice president of product management at Meta, told reporters. The company committed to never selling or sharing phone numbers to advertisers and said personal messages, calls, and group memberships will not influence ad targeting. "To show ads in Status or Channels, we're going to use basic information like your country or city, your device language and your activity in the Updates tab," Srinivasan said. The introduction of advertising represents Meta's effort to monetize WhatsApp's massive user base of over two billion monthly active users. Industry analysts have long speculated that Meta would eventually bring advertising to WhatsApp given its scale and engagement rates. The timeline for these features was not specified in the announcement. "They're going to be rolling out slowly over the next few months, so it might be a while until you see them in your countries," Srinivasan said.
Campaign ME
a day ago
- Campaign ME
The future of the advertising in the presence of AI and automation
An industry ruled predominantly by human creativity, now finds itself contemplating the creative capabilities of AI. But to reduce such a diverse industry to just the mass production of creative content is to overlook the true breadth of marketing of AI. Just as it is limiting to define marketing solely by one of its outputs, it is equally misleading to analyse it as if it exists in vacuum. It would be like assessing the benefits of a salad by looking only at the cucumber. Marketing, by definition, is inseparable from markets. Its value emerges within the broader context of its interaction with the entire economic ecosystem, because marketing modernly is often described as the 'invisible hand' that nudges behaviour, what happens when that invisible hand becomes guided by algorithms capable of perfectly balancing supply and demand? Does marketing remain relevant? To explore this question meaningfully we have to rise above the nuances and look at the convergence of marketing and AI from multiple perspectives: technical, behavioural, economic, and ethical. Starting with 'Do we want to see ads made by AI?' which for now feels more like an advertising gimmick showcasing the creative ingenuity of the humans behind the tool, contributing to the adage of 'AI won't replace you, someone who knows AI will.' Reducing the question to a simpler reflection: if we trust AI in healthcare, or aviation, why are we hesitant to trust it with serving us ads? Much of the reluctance centers around losing ourselves in an algorithm-driven echo chamber. Which brings up the topic of hyper-personalisation that would utilise the amount of data we generate. Consider an example of a running campaign when new insights are revealed and marketers know they need to pivot. Advertising and data are inseparable, which is why regulation is important to preventing excessive data centralisation. However, due to the current lengthy marketing process, by the time content is updated and approved the window of opportunity has closed. The result is scope creep with no real benefit for either the client or the agency. In the future, Meta's advantage+ knows what you like and dislike, powered by advanced generative engine. Here you are scrolling Instagram at 12 pm like you do almost every day, hungry, your wearable device picks up on the biochemical cues, and delivers the data. Meta knows what your preferences are, serves you a soda ad, a model on the beach, soda bottle sweating, it's a diet soda, cause you are building that summer body, the ad has been generated in real time, Pepsi and Cola bid for it, Cola wins the bid, ad served, you are now having a cola with your lunch at 1pm. Is this far-fetched? Maybe. Unrealistic? Not sure. It's no surprise that marketing falls under the quaternary sector (the information or knowledge-based economy) alongside AI and machine learning. Advertising and data are inseparable, which is why regulation is important to preventing excessive data centralisation. Google's ad revenue outpacing Meta testifies to the advantage (real advantage) of intent-based advertising. SEO and it's future AI variants are key tools in the marketing toolkit and will see more emphasis on PR capabilities. Finally, AI is more than just the generative tools we use, in other domains its ethical implications are profound. Although machines are unbeatable, creativity still plays a critical role. Magnus Carlsen's unexpected pawn move in 2024 championship surprised even top chess engines. It served as a reminder that human creativity and intuition still matters. Elite chess players train alongside AI, creating human and machine teams. As a result we are witnessing the best chess seen in decades. Would we see the same for marketing? Ultimately, data can inform forecasts, but cannot guarantee them, much like the weather, which might be predicted to be gray and rainy, only to wake up to the most beautiful, sunny day. AI can analyse countless data points and come up with insights, but the most important insight is that humans have always evolved, and will continue to do so. For that reason the future of our industry lies in augmentation, much like the situation with chess, we rely on AI as much as it relies on us, so all we can do for now is learn from it, and learn about it, as much as it it learns from us, and learns about us. By Mohamad Arnous, Account Director, Living Room Dubai.
