Meta plans to introduce adverts on WhatsApp, breaking a promise made by co-founder Jan Koum.
Meta plans to introduce adverts on WhatsApp, breaking a promise made by co-founder Jan Koum.
Meta has unveiled plans to introduce advertisements on WhatsApp, breaking a promise by the messaging app’s co-founder never to do so.
In a major update announced today, WhatsApp said it will roll out paid advertising to its three billion monthly users over the next few months.
The move is indirect violation of the “no ads, no games, no gimmicks” pledge made by Meta following its US$19 billion ($31b) acquisition of WhatsApp in 2014.
Jan Koum, WhatsApp’s co-founder and chief executive at the time, had the mantra written on a note taped to his desk.
In a 2012 blog post entitled “Why we don’t sell ads”, he wrote: “Remember, when advertising is involved, you, the user, are the product.”
The decision to abandon this promise risks fuelling concerns that the app is becoming more of a social media platform instead of a messaging service.
It also comes after Meta began rolling out its own artificial intelligence (AI) function within WhatsApp, allowing users to interact with a chatbot similar to ChatGPT.
The move risks concerns about WhatsApp becoming more like a social media platform than a messaging service. Pictured is co-founder Jan Koum. Photo / Getty Images
Meta AI also offers AI-powered search suggestions.
The new AI feature, which cannot be deactivated or deleted, has prompted a furious backlash from some users, who branded it “bug-ridden rubbish”.
Despite this, Meta has said it will add further AI features, including writing suggestions and summaries.
The new features will allow all businesses to promote their channels to WhatsApp users, as well as to run ads as a status update.
These are temporary posts similar to “Stories” on Instagram.
Businesses will also be able to grant users access to exclusive updates in exchange for a monthly subscription fee. Meta is expected to take a 10% commission from those fees.
The features will be housed in WhatsApp’s updates tab.
Overall, WhatsApp has around three billion monthly users, including 200 million businesses.
WhatsApp said the adverts would not appear in personal chats, which use end-to-end encryption, meaning the company cannot see them.
Users and digital rights groups worry that the move could lead to changes in how personal data is handled, potentially undermining the app’s strong reputation for end-to-end encryption and user privacy. Photo / 123rf
Instead, WhatsApp will use information such as location and language and which channels a user follows to promote relevant ads to them.
But users who have linked their WhatsApp account to other Meta-owned apps, such as Facebook and Instagram, will see more personalised ads.
WhatsApp, which accounts for a relatively small part of the group’s business, has long been seen as a potential source of growth for Mark Zuckerberg’s company.
The app is free to download for consumers and only makes money from business users.
Meta reported revenues of more than US$42b in the first quarter, outstripping Wall Street expectations.
Zuckerberg said the tech industry was gearing up for a “pivotal” year, pointing to his company’s progress in AI.
