WhatsApp to start showing ads to users in parts of the messaging app
LONDON (AP) — WhatsApp said Monday that users will start seeing ads in parts of the app, as owner Meta Platforms moves to cultivate a new revenue stream by tapping the billions of people that use the messaging service.
Advertisements will be shown only in the app's Updates tab, which is used by as many as 1.5 billion people each day. However, they won't appear where personal chats are located, developers said.
'The personal messaging experience on WhatsApp isn't changing, and personal messages, calls and statuses are end-to-end encrypted and cannot be used to show ads,' WhatsApp said in a blog post.
It's a big change for the company, whose founders Jan Koum and Brian Acton vowed to keep the platform free of ads when they created it in 2009.
Facebook purchased WhatsApp in 2014 and the pair left a few years later. Parent company Meta Platforms Inc. has long been trying to generate revenue from WhatsApp.
WhatsApp said ads will be targeted to users based on information like their age, the country or city where they're located, the language they're using, the channels they're following in the app, and how they're interacting with the ads they see.
WhatsApp said it won't use personal messages, calls and groups that a user is a member of to target ads to the user.
It's one of three advertising features that WhatsApp unveiled on Monday as it tries to monetize the app's user base. Channels will also be able to charge users a monthly fee for subscriptions so they can get exclusive updates. And business owners will be able to pay to promote their channel's visibility to new users.
Most of Meta's revenue comes from ads. In 2025, the Menlo Park, California-based company's revenue totaled $164.5 billion and $160.6 billion of it came from advertising.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
24 minutes ago
- Yahoo
PSA to begin grading comics, magazines July 14
For much of its more than three decades of existence, PSA has been one of the leaders — if not the top dog — in its primary category of card grading. But as it expands into grading comics and magazines, bringing along its learnings and infrastructure already built for cards, PSA is the new kid on the block for the first time. Advertisement The grading giant plans to open submissions for its newest category July 14 ahead of San Diego Comic-Con, following more than a year of research and development to create its own proprietary holder and a brand-new grading scale. Elizabeth Gruene, PSA's general manager of pop culture, told cllct she first started working on bringing PSA to the comic book world in early 2023 as a 'high-level business case,' analyzing the market and PSA's opportunity. Then, in 2024, development began in earnest. The company debuted its prototype holder at San Diego Comic-Con last year and solicited feedback from customers, dealers and influencers. In addition to making the holder lighter since unveiling the prototype, PSA also tweaked the dimensions to match those of CGC — the oldest and most popular comic grader in the world. Collectors were accustomed to the current infrastructure in the market dominated by CGC and wanted to continue using things such as shipping boxes or sleeves already designed around CGC slabs. Advertisement 'It's a unique position for us to be in, because we're used to being the market leader and kind of the dominant force in the card space, and with comics, that's just nothing the case,' Gruene said. 'CGC has been doing this for decades and have built a great reputation and have a really loyal customer base. And so, I think, it'd be silly to think that we could come in and just like, totally disrupt that.' Gruene emphasized PSA is approaching the new category 'with humility' and needs to earn the trust of the new demographic of collectors, who, in large part, are used to CGC. That being said, PSA hopes to bring its own best practices to the space and believes it can innovate. Advertisement Gruene cited holders as an area of differentiation. PSA focused on making its slabs tamper evident, something CGC has been criticized for at times. It's 99.9% UV reflective and produced with polycarbonate, which the company says is 'nearly unbreakable' and has an impact strength 250 times stronger than glass. It's also optimized for stackability, similar to PSA's card slabs. 'I think there's a lot we can take from what we're doing in cards and apply to comics and truly make the comic industry and the hobby better,' Gruene said. 'That's really our intention with entering. It's not to be like, 'OK, we're gonna go steal [market] share.' That's not really a battle we even really want to fight. "I think it's more about how we can increase the size of the pie and bring totally new people into this hobby that weren't in it.' PSA also sees its deep sports and international ties as an opportunity to grow the magazine market. Advertisement 'I think a lot of sports card collectors will get excited about collecting sports magazines and grading sports magazines,' Gruene said. She also thinks PSA's international footprint, particularly in Japan with Manga, is ripe for opportunity as well. The other piece of the puzzle for PSA was coming up with a grading scale from scratch. It began by comparing it to their current system for cards, as well as the 10-point scale pioneered by CGC. There is so much more to consider than in cards — more similar to a video game or a Funko Pop. Some things that make up the current grading standards will be kept and others revamped. 'We're trying to be very, very specific and quantitative in a lot of ways, because I don't want it to be inconsistent,' Gruene said. 'That's going to be something we would get roasted for is not having consistent standards.' PSA will have grading notes on all submissions, except, of course, comics that receive the perfect PSA 10, which Gruene hopes will be a big chase for collectors. Advertisement 'The PSA 10 is so iconic for the PSA brand and bringing a GEM MINT 10 to comics will be a revolutionary thing for the industry.' Will Stern is a reporter and editor for cllct, the premier company for collectible content.
Digital Trends
25 minutes ago
- Digital Trends
This might be the coolest way to charge an Apple Watch
If you love a touch of nostalgia and have an Apple Watch, then this new charger from Spigen may well appeal. Joining Spigen's C1 collection featuring accessories inspired by the design of classic Apple products, the Apple Watch Classic C1 charger sports the familiar look of Apple's iconic iMac G3, which shook up the PC market when it launched in 1998. Recommended Videos The $35 device is designed to house your Apple Watch charging puck, which fits snugly in the G3's 'display' after you've fed the wire through the back. It even features the computer's slightly slanted display angle for a comfortable view of the watch face. The charger comes in four different colors that match some of the options offered by the original iMac G3, namely Tangerine, Graphite, Ruby, and the original Bondi Blue. The Apple Watch Classic C1 charger is compatible with the Apple Watch Ultra (49mm), Apple Watch series 10/9/8/SE2/7/6/SE/5/4, AirPods 4 (ANC), and AirPods Pro 2, but just to be clear, the actual charging puck is not part of the package. Apple's iMac G3 arrived at a time when PCs came in one flavor — beige and boring. Indeed, its colorful design signaled that it was more than a computer. It was a promise that tech could be, well, joyful. The all-in-one iMac G3 proved popular with customers looking for something a little different, and its subsequent success played a pivotal role in Apple's resurgence after years of financial struggles. Recognizing its iconic status and keen to highlight its significance in design and technology history, the Smithsonian Institution added the iMac G3 to its collection. The computer sold more than six million units between 1998 and 2003, cementing the foundations of the iMac, which continues as a product line today — albeit with a starkly different look. And now it's inspired the design of an Apple Watch charger, too.
Yahoo
34 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Truckers see less business as Los Angeles port volumes slow
This story was originally published on Trucking Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Trucking Dive newsletter. Tariffs are impacting how much cargo truckers are hauling at the Port of Los Angeles, Executive Director Gene Seroka said during a press briefing on June 13. 'If you're a trucker who was hauling four or five containers a day prior to these announcements back in April, today, you're likely hauling two or three loads,' Seroka said. Among the tariffs announced in Trump's sweeping reciprocal tariff policy is the 10% universal baseline tariff, which went into effect on April 5 and subjects certain trading partners like China and Japan to higher duties than the baseline rate. The situation at the port is fluid, according to Seroka. But he noted that May saw 17 cancelled sailings, resulting in a loss of 225,000 expected container units that were expected but didn't show up, Seroka said. 'So there's less work on the docks,' he said. In May, cargo volumes at the Port of Los Angeles were 5% down year over year and decreased 19% compared to April. That's adding further strain on trucking businesses, the California Trucking Association noted. "The San Pedro Bay Port Complex serves as the gateway for 40% of the nation's imports. Less goods coming to the ports means less truck drivers on the road," the association told Trucking Dive in an email. This reality so far contradicts the expected summer surge in imports reported by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates' Global Port Tracker, as retailers seek to take advantage of the 90-day subdued tariff levels against China. 'Retailers had paused their purchases and imports previously because of the significantly high tariffs,' NRF VP of Supply Chain and Customs Policy Jonathan Gold said in the report. And now they are looking to get cargo moving before the reciprocal tariff and additional China tariff pauses end in July and August, he said. On the contrary, Seroka said he hasn't observed that surge in cargo volume. He added that the port expects the season to peak in July with arrivals for the Christmas and year-end holiday season, although retailers haven't made their strategy clear to him. 'Retailers are not telling me that they're boosting inventory levels to have wide selections on products, beginning that Thanksgiving week and running to the end of the year. So I'm not seeing that either,' Seroka said. While May traditionally tends to be a stronger month than April in terms of cargo volume, this past May was the lowest cargo output in over two years. 'Unless long-term, comprehensive trade agreements are reached soon, we'll likely see higher prices and less selection during the year-end holiday season,' Seroka said in a press release. 'The uncertainty created by fast-changing tariff policies has caused hardships for consumers, businesses and labor." Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
