Meta shuts down WhatsApp ads rumours amid speculation

WEB DESK: Meta, the parent company of WhatsApp, has clearly refuted recent claims of considering adding ads to the widely-used messaging platform, as reported by TechCrunch.

The speculation had arisen following a report by the Financial Times, which suggested that certain teams within Meta were exploring the feasibility of incorporating ads within lists of conversations on the WhatsApp home screen.

However, WhatsApp has firmly dismissed these claims, asserting that it is neither conducting tests nor actively developing such a feature.

For years, industry analysts have pondered Meta’s strategy for monetising WhatsApp, a platform regularly accessed by more than 2 billion users globally.

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Despite achieving widespread success, WhatsApp has largely refrained from incorporating advertisements, in sharp contrast to Instagram, another platform acquired by Meta, where ads have been seamlessly integrated.

Meanwhile, instead of pursuing conventional advertising, Meta has chosen to harness revenue from WhatsApp Business, a specialised service tailored for merchants, which has amassed over 200 million monthly active users.

Earlier in February, Meta introduced changes to the pricing structure and messaging categories within WhatsApp Business with the aim of boosting revenue. These categories included utility, authentication (for one-time passcodes), marketing, and user-initiated service conversations.

Furthermore, during the Q3 earnings call last year, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, revealed that “click-to-WhatsApp” ads had achieved an annual revenue run rate of $1.5 billion, exhibiting an impressive 80 per cent year-on-year growth rate.

Nevertheless, Meta has been facilitating peer-to-peer and customer-to-merchant payments in countries such as India, Brazil, and Singapore. In May, the company announced its intention to integrate payments into its recently launched global broadcasting feature, Channels.

It’s worth noting that over the past decade, WhatsApp has occasionally contemplated displaying ads, particularly within WhatsApp Status. However, such plans have consistently been abandoned.