WhatsApp is adding ads to Status screen
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The ads will be shown to users only within WhatsApp’s “Updates” tab to separate them from people’s personal conversations.
The cofounders of WhatsApp resisted ads in the app for years, including after the company was acquired by Meta for $22 billion in 2014. Brian Acton and Jan Koum left the company in 2017 and 2018, respectively, and on Monday Meta introduced ads in the “Status” feature as well as sponsored Channels in the the “Updates” tab of WhatsApp.
An Evercore analyst notes that Meta has a strong track record with its monetization initiatives across brands.
Curtis said that when she first signed on as the spokesperson for Activia, “My agents and lawyers and many friends questioned why I would do such a thing.”
For now, the ads will only appear on WhatsApp's Updates tab, where users can update their status and access channels or groups targeting specific interests they may want to follow. In its announcement of the ads, parent company Meta claimed that placing ads under Updates means that the ads won’t “interrupt personal chats.”
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