Latest news with #JanKoum
News.com.au
2 hours ago
- Business
- News.com.au
WhatsApp's shock ‘no ads' backflip leaves users fuming
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, running a 'No ads! No games! No gimmicks!' mantra. In 2014, Sequoia Capital investor Jim Goetz shared a Tumblr post with a handwritten note saying as much that was taped to WhatsApp CEO Jan Koum's desk. Sequoia Capital was a main investor in WhatsApp, investing $60m in the business before it was acquired by Facebook in 2014 — a stake that was worth $3 billion. But there's long been suggestions that the business would bow to pressure and seek to monetise the 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. But the decision hasn't gone down well for some who had always appreciated the 'No ads! No games! No gimmicks!' mantra. 'WhatsApp: 'No ads, no gimmicks, just chat.' Also WhatsApp: 'How about ads and subscriptions now?',' one fan tweeted. A self described 'Apple fanboi' added: 'Today Meta finally put ads into WhatsApp. Jan's 2012 blog post about why we don't sell ads is still live which is kinda funny. This is exactly why I am an Apple fanboi. It's certainly not perfect, but it's the last major company where there is roughly one clear customer.' Another posted: 'Everyone knew it was coming! Waiting to see the sea of anger incoming … Are you going to switch messenger?' Another user commented: 'I use WhatsApp to stay connected with friends and family, not to be targeted by ads. The Status tab should remain for personal updates, not commercial clutter. These ads dilute that value and make it like every other social platform filled with marketing noise. Worse!' The introduction of advertising represents Meta's effort to monetise 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.
9 News
2 hours ago
- Business
- 9 News
WhatsApp to start showing ads to users in parts of the messaging app
Your web browser is no longer supported. To improve your experience update it here WhatsApp 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, WhatsApp 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. WhatsApp will soon include advertisements on some parts of the app. (iStock) 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 monetise 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 totalled US$164.5 billion ($AUD 252.3 billion) and US$160.6 billion ($AUD 246.3 billion) of it came from advertising. Technology social media finance World business CONTACT US Auto news:Is this the next Subaru WRX? Mysterious performance car teased.
Japan Today
3 hours ago
- Business
- Japan Today
WhatsApp to start showing ads to users in parts of the messaging app
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. © Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Al Etihad
5 hours ago
- Business
- 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.
The Hill
5 hours ago
- Business
- The Hill
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.
