Big changes to WhatsApp: ads and subscription payments are coming
WhatsApp has finally given in and added something it said for years it wouldn't have: ads . The messaging company has announced a series of new features designed to transform the News tab , a space already used by 1.5 billion people daily.
These innovations are primarily intended to help administrators, organizations, and businesses grow within the platform, and for this reason, Meta , WhatsApp's parent company, has ensured that the privacy of personal chats remains intact and no changes will be made there.
The new features will focus on three fundamental pillars:
WhatsApp adds the biggest changes in a long time
A key aspect of this release is the clear distinction between these new features and the personal chat experience.
WhatsApp has reiterated that all of these updates will appear exclusively in the News tab , separate from personal chats. This means that users who only use the app to communicate with friends and family will not see any impact on their experience.
Ads in Status will be similar to what currently happens with Instagram Stories , which combine what our contacts share with ads in the same format.
When will the changes be implemented? According to WhatsApp, the rollout will begin in a few months and will gradually reach different regions and users.
Privacy guaranteedThe company has placed a strong emphasis on privacy when developing these features. Personal messages, calls, and statuses are guaranteed to remain end-to-end encrypted , meaning not even WhatsApp can access their content.
To display relevant ads across statuses or channels, the platform will use limited information, such as country, language, channels the user follows, and their interaction with ads.
WhatsApp adds the biggest changes in a long time
Additionally, for those who have opted to link WhatsApp to the Meta Account Center , the ad preferences and information from all of your Meta accounts will be used.
WhatsApp has assured that it will never sell or share users' phone numbers with advertisers. It has also specified that personal messages, calls, and groups a user is in will not be used to determine which ads they see.
WhatsApp wants to boost commerceThe company has said it has been thinking for years about how to build a business model that doesn't interfere with personal chats , and believes the What's New tab is the right place to incorporate these new features.
WhatsApp adds the biggest changes in a long time
Alice Newton-Rex, WhatsApp's Vice President of Product , says these changes are a first step: “Millions of businesses already use WhatsApp because people want to chat with them on their own terms and in the spaces where they already spend their time. Until now, businesses could run ads on Facebook and Instagram that redirect to a WhatsApp chat, but this is the first time they'll be able to do so directly within the app.”
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