For years, WhatsApp has offered its users a free and advertising -free messaging experience. However, it was obvious that this line could not stay for a long time. Meta has now officially announced its decision to start showing ads within the application. Ads will only appear on the status screen.
An integrated into WhatsApp is a structure similar to the model where Instagram users see advertising among the stories. After watching a few of the status updates, users will encounter sponsored content. These contents will be placed in a way that does not directly cut the application experience. Meta emphasizes that ads will be shown to the user in a natural flow.
WhatsApp makes channels and explore screen revenue intermediaries
Meta will benefit from some general signals such as location information, language preference and channels they follow in advertising screenings. However, it is announced that personal data, such as individual message contents, phone numbers or search records, will not be used for targeting. If the user has connected the WhatsApp account to the Meta Account Center, advertising preferences will be arranged according to the settings in this center. Thus, the user control will be preserved, albeit to some extent.
With the arrival of ad on the status screen, WhatsApp’s identity is only a chat application. This step is positioned as an additional source of income except WhatsApp business and clickable ads. In the recent financial reports of Meta, it was emphasized that these advertising channels were growing. Therefore, this new regulation is not seen as a surprise.
On the other hand, not only ads, but also new earnings models for content producers are activated. WhatsApp channels feature can now be introduced more actively. Companies and individual content producers will be able to highlight their channels in the Discover section. Moreover, a subscription system will be provided with paid access to certain content.
This subscription system will process through application stores and payment directly in WhatsApp. Thus, the user experience will not be complex and no risk for security. The right to subscribe to subscription will be recognized only to selected enterprises and content producers. It is not clear whether this model will expand in the future.
WhatsApp Vice President Alice Newton Rex said that these new buildings are a natural progress. According to him, users now want to explore businesses in WhatsApp. It responds to expectations that the application becomes both a chat and trade platform. This shows that WhatsApp’s use is expanding.
According to the current statistics shared by Meta, more than 1.5 billion user situations and channels are actively using their features every day. This points to an important potential for advertisers. A user base of this size makes it inevitable for the desire to turn WhatsApp into a more profitable platform. How users will react to these ads will become clear in the future.
In addition, WhatsApp’s effort to edit the advertising experience in a way that does not disturb the user draws attention. It is not an easy task to place ads without disturbing the messaging experience of the application. But Meta is expected to benefit from his previous experiences. The advertising experience on Instagram is an important reference point for this transition process.
Finally, advertising and subscription features will be commissioned worldwide. So users will not see these changes at the same time. Each country and region will reach new features with a calendar planned according to their own market dynamics. This shows that WhatsApp wants to carry out a global careful and cautious transition process.