WhatsApp ‘Status’ feature will soon include ads
It was bound to happen, eventually. WhatsApp is going to start showing you ads.
Advertisements are coming to the messaging app’s Status feature, according toWhatsApp Vice President Chris Daniels. "We are going to be putting ads in 'Status',” said Daniels. “That is going to be primary monetisation mode for the company as well as an opportunity for businesses to reach people on WhatsApp."
WhatsApp Status was rolled out on the app in February of last year. Status allows WhatsApp users to add encrypted text, photos, and video to their profile. Statuses delete after 24 hours. It’s a bit like a Snapchat Stories type feature in-line with the company’s similarly cloned Facebook and Instagram Stories.
In 2014, Facebook acquiredWhatsApp in a deal that is now -- thanks to Facebook’s rising stock valuation -- worth $22 billion. From the very beginningof the deal announcement, many questioned if WhatsApp could stay true to it’s mantra: "No ads. No games. No gimmicks." WhatsApp’s founders Brian Acton and Jan Koum’s are notorious for their anti-advertisement stance and ultimately this point of contention is what led to Acton and Koum’s very public exitfrom the company.
SEE ALSO:Everything is not 'awesome' at Facebook, says Instagram co-founderThe messaging app originally charged users a very nominal yearly fee in lieu of selling advertisements. When the deal was made to sell WhatsApp to Facebook, Acton and Koum specifically had a clause written in that gave the two exit options should the company ever decide to sell ads on the app. In 2016, Facebook removed the fee, making WhatsApp completely free, which really should have sent the message that advertisements were inevitable.
Since the Facebook acquisition, WhatsApp has grown exponentially. Over 1.5 billion users around the globe currently use the app to send to send encrypted messages, photos, and videos at zero cost. With that sort of user base, it seems Facebook realized they were leaving just way too muchmoney on the table.
Mashable has reached out to Facebook for comment and will update this when we hear back.
Featured Video For You
Facebook's Portal is coming at a very odd time — Technically Speaking
(责任编辑:资讯)
- Yoon approves labor minister's appointment
- Samsung launches 17.3
- Ronan Farrow on the demise of the State Department, President Trump, and the power of Mike Pompeo.
- Amazon employees listening to your Alexa chats can see where you live
- 优化广东优质农产品产销资源对接!“农友圈”又有新动作
- Apple's iPhone 17 will come with a huge RAM upgrade, report claims
- 农业产业发展 要以质量拓宽销路
- North Korea likely to escape punishment for rocket launches
- North Korea likely to escape punishment for rocket launches
- [Graphic News] Average book price nears 20,000 won
- Samsung launches 17.3
- Toilet paper art: Coronavirus has brought us to this
- North Korea decides not to participate in Tokyo Olympics over coronavirus concerns
-
By a technicality, August's full moon is blue. Here's why.
There's supposedly nothing special about a blue moon. A full moon is just a moon phase, and a blue m ...[详细] -
CDC issues romaine lettuce warning in E. coli outbreak.
Because of a multistate E.coli outbreak believed to have originated in Arizona, the CDC has issued a ...[详细] -
SYDNEY:Australian state officials defended their decision Thursday to force some Olympic athletes to ...[详细]
-
Pixel 3 update turns your phone into your own personal kiss cam
Google's Pixel 3 camera is getting even smarter. The latest camera update adds new "kiss recognition ...[详细] -
US to oppose North Korean worker dispatch to occupied Ukrainian territory: State Dept.
Spokeperson for the State Department Matthew Miller speaks during a press briefing in Washington, D. ...[详细] -
Trump set aside time during press conference with Theresa May to insult CNN, naturally
Different continent, same old CNN-hating Trump.On Friday, the U.S. president upheld his vendetta aga ...[详细] -
9日上午,医生徐卫霞叮嘱医生莫,回家10天后再来医院做化疗“你是病人,不能再吃方便面了,营养跟不上,化疗时承受不起!”“吃盒饭价值贵,要10元钱一份!”……5月9日早上,市医院妇产科主管医生徐卫霞来到 ...[详细]
-
雅安日报/北纬网讯9日至10日,市人大常委会副主任彭学松率队前往汉源县,就农业专业合作社发展及运行情况和少数民族地区产业发展情况进行调研。调研组先后深入富林镇青富村、安乐乡、片马彝族乡等地,察看皇菊烘 ...[详细]
-
50 Years Later: The Revolutionary 8008 Microprocessor
Guest author Ken Shirriff is a Silicon Valley-based computer enthusiast who enjoys reverse-engineeri ...[详细] -
Australia eyes hosting 2030 or 2034 World Cup
Australian football chiefs are formulating plans to host either the men's 2030 or 2034 World Cup ...[详细]
- Pixel 9 Pro XL hands
- Take a break from stressing and watch these puppies explore an aquarium
- Lifting of missile guidelines leads to no change in US defense commitment: Pentagon
- Facebook may soften political ad rules for EU election
- Speeding space object triggered a warning. It wasn't an asteroid.
- Apple is developing its own LiDAR sensors, talking to potential sensor suppliers for self
- 农业产业发展 要以质量拓宽销路