WhatsApp to start showing adverts to users
WhatsApp announced on Monday 16 June that it is rolling out advertisements that will be shown to users of the messaging app.
In a blog post published on the company’s website, the app detailed how it would start showing Instagram-style adverts in its Status interface, as well as surfacing promoted channels to users when they are exploring available channels.
The changes being introduced to the app comprise the following:
- Channel subscriptions: Users can now subscribe to channels to receive exclusive updates for a monthly fee.
- Promoted Channels: WhatsApp will advertise promoted channels to users when they are looking through the directory. This allows channel admins to promote their channel’s visibility.
- Ads in Status: Advertisements will now be shown in the Status section of the Updates tab within WhatsApp.
WhatsApp said that by placing advertisements within the Updates tab of the application, it will not interfere with users’ core chat experiences.
“These new features will appear only on the Updates tab, away from your personal chats. This means if you only use WhatsApp to chat with friends and loved ones there is no change to your experience at all,” WhatsApp said.
“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.”
The company stressed that users’ private chats are encrypted and that personal messages, calls, and groups will not be used to determine the ads served to users.
WhatsApp users will start seeing these advertisements as the changes roll out from today.
Below is an image of the how the adverts and other changes announced by WhatsApp will appear in the application.
