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WhatsApp is exploring a new feature that would display ads in the app for the first time, a move that has caused internal controversy as parent company Meta looks to monetize the world’s most popular messaging service.
According to three people familiar with the matter, Meta’s teams are discussing whether to show ads in the list of conversations with contacts on the WhatsApp chat screen, but no final decision has been made.
However, the concept has been debated at high levels within the company due to concerns it would alienate users, said a person with close knowledge of the discussions.
Meta is also considering whether to charge a subscription fee to use the app ad-free, two of the people said, but many insiders are against the move.
Before WhatsApp was acquired by Facebook for $19 billion in 2014, its co-founder Brian Acton said, “No ads!” Stop playing! No gimmick!” A company mantra.
How WhatsApp made money by charging users $1 to download the app.
And Facebook (he said) supported our mission and vision.
Brian also wrote this famous note: pic.twitter.com/A6ufhkMIuX
-Neeraj Arora (@neerajarora) 4 May 2022
Discussion of breaking that long-standing position, while still at an early stage, highlights Meta’s desire to capitalize on one of the few platforms that is still devoid of advertising.
“We can’t account for every conversation we have with anyone at our company, but we’re not testing it, we’re working on it, and that’s not our plan at all,” WhatsApp said.
Meta has been working to boost its advertising revenue, which was hit during a period of macroeconomic uncertainty amid investor concern over the company’s billion-dollar bets on virtual reality and the “metaverse.”
Since it began a “year of efficiency” in which thousands of employees were cut, its outlook has improved. In July, it reported its first double-digit revenue growth since 2021, with the vast majority, $31.5 billion, coming from advertising in the second quarter.
“There are definitely a lot of opportunities when it comes to advertising on WhatsApp,” said Ed East, chief executive of advertising agency Billion Dollar Boy. He said it was an “attractive prospect” for marketers but there was a risk of it being seen as “intrusive” by users.
WhatsApp, which counts 200 million small businesses among its regular users, recently tested a feature that allows businesses to send marketing messages directly within WhatsApp to users who have consented to receive them. Has given.
If the new feature is launched, it will mean that all WhatsApp users will be shown ads, which will appear next to chats with friends and relatives.
The interface will look similar to how ads are added between chats in Facebook Messenger and emails on Gmail, said a person with close knowledge of the internal discussions. Ads will not appear in chat conversations themselves.
Some senior executives are concerned that following this model would degrade the experience on WhatsApp and lead users to abandon the app for other free alternatives, one of the people said.
Estimates from mobile app analyst Data.ai show that WhatsApp, with its 2.23 billion monthly active users, is far more popular than Instagram and Facebook Messenger.
Additional reporting by Hannah Murphy, Daniel Thomas and Chloe Cornish
This article has been amended to correct the spelling of Brian Acton’s name