Last September, the ‘Financial Times (FT)’ newspaper published an article revealing that WhatsApp’s parent company, Meta. I would consider adding advertising to the app “in an attempt to generate more revenue.”
This information caused a stir It was described as “inaccurate” by the platform’s administrator, Will Cathcart. Through your ‘X’ account.
“This story is false. We do not do this.” the businessman said after announcing the company’s intention to make advertising possible on the messaging platform.
(You might be interested in: Learn how to add AI chat to your WhatsApp so it speaks as if it were a human.)
‘According to the FT, three different sources claimed to have information that would increase the likelihood of advertising. “both in conversation lists and in the app’s chat screen.”
In fact, they also commented on the following option: Offer users a subscription to keep the service free of annoying notificationsS.
The alleged proposal, if implemented, would have raised concerns among a large number of company employees, “including managers who disagreed and expressed concerns about the quality of service.”
(Continue reading: When to ‘Clear data’ or ‘Clear cache in WhatsApp: differences between both functions).
Despite these rumors Meta flatly denied this was even considered As a possibility in future WhatsApp updates.
In a recent interview with Brazilian media ‘Folha de São Paulo’, the manager reaffirmed his position, stating that advertising presence is not an option at the moment.
This is because They already have help on the enterprise version of the platformApparently for large companies that generate business value for them.
“The app will continue to be free, with no ads in the inbox, and will also continue to focus on messaging services for companies, which are one of its main revenue generators,” Cathcart told the paper.
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However, they explained that they did not rule out the idea of applying such statements in other areas of the platform. just like the newly created broadcast channels used by people from the public or business world, where users can join according to their interests.
“WhatsApp will remain free and ad-free in your inbox and messaging experience. The reason I’m limiting the answer is that there may be ads in other places too: channels or states. For example, channels may charge people to subscribe, may be exclusive to paid members, or owners may want to promote the channel. But no, we will not place ads in your inbox,” he explained in an interview with ‘Folha’.
It is not yet known whether this option will be officially realized within the application. For now, they are expected to continue their updates without this change. because for most people it would be a bit annoying to have pop-ups with ads.
NATHALIA GÓMEZ PARRA
DIGITAL COVERAGE EDITORIAL
TIME
Source: Exame
