14 DAY TRIAL // Starting next year, WhatsApp will display ads in the Status screen as part of a service transformation that Facebook is pushing for in order to start making money out of the world’s number one mobile messaging app.
WhatsApp aims to offer more tools to businesses to get in touch with users, and the company announces new ad types that would be specifically aimed at allowing paying customers to contact you on the mobile phone.
A report from the Wall Street Journal reveals that WhatsApp will charge companies between half a penny and 9 cents for every message delivered to a potential customer. A pilot program that involved some 100 companies, including Uber and Singapore Airlines, have already been completed.
Ads can’t be blocked
While companies will contact customers more often on WhatsApp, the service guarantees that users would always be in control of the messages they receive.
“With this approach, you will continue to have full control over the messages you receive. Businesses will pay to send certain messages so they are selective and your chats don't get cluttered. In addition, messages will remain end-to-end encrypted and you can block any business with the tap of a button,” WhatsApp says.
Blocking the Status ads won’t be possible, though WhatsApp says that messages from businesses will only be offered to customers who allow them. Ads will run on Facebook’s advertising system, and WhatsApp says it’s confident users will adapt to this new approach.
“We’ve seen it working well on Instagram and so we’re learning a lot from that,” Matt Idema, WhatsApp’s chief operating officer, was quoted as saying by the cited source.
While this transformation may lead to a decreasing user base for WhatsApp, Facebook looks set to convert the world’s number one mobile messaging app into a money-making machine. Earlier this year, WhatsApp announced that it reached the 1.5 billion monthly users milestone.