WhatsApp is completely free and without ads, but that may change. Meta is working on a version with advertisements.
WhatsApp may get ads
WhatsApp is currently free to install in the App Store and you will not see any advertisements in the app. According to Meta, you do not pay money for WhatsApp, but advertisements may be added to the app. Will Cathcart, the boss of WhatsApp, said this during an interview in Brazil. That interview discussed how Meta makes money from WhatsApp.
Also read: WhatsApp is now much better on the Mac (and is coming to the iPad)
WhatsApp currently only lets users pay for certain tools on business accounts. With the ‘normal’ version of WhatsApp, all functions are free to use, and according to Cathcart this will remain the case. Meta is therefore not considering paid channels, as we see with Telegram, for example. Another revenue model is being considered: adding advertisements to WhatsApp.
Ads do not appear in chat
Cathcart also gives an idea of ​​what WhatsApp will look like with advertisements. According to him, we don’t have to worry about advertisements in the chat itself or in the list of conversations. According to Meta, that is not the right way to advertise on WhatsApp. The company is afraid that advertisements in the chat will actually deter users, which may lead to less use of the app.
Where can we expect advertisements in the app? According to Cathcart, it is quite possible that advertisements will be added to public channels at WhatsApp Channels and to WhatsApp Status. With the latter you would then see advertising between different ones stories of your contacts, just as is already the case with Instagram.
WhatsApp already showed advertisements in 2018
This would not be the first time that WhatsApp has shown advertisements, because advertisements were also included in 2018 stories displayed by. This happened in a test version of the app at the time, but was ultimately not implemented in the final version of WhatsApp. So it seems that this will happen now, but it is not clear when that will happen.
Also read: WhatsApp is working on a feature against stalkers – this is what you need to know
So it remains to be seen if and when we will see advertisements in WhatsApp. The fact that Cathcart openly talks about it in an interview probably means that the plans will become reality. Do you want to know more about WhatsApp? Previously we explained how to edit already sent messages on WhatsApp. Do you want your messages to disappear automatically after they have been read? Then read here exactly how to do that!
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