WHATSAPP might be introducing in-app adverts for its two billion users, boss Will Cathcart noted in a recent interview.
The ads could show up in different places within the app, such as inside Channels and beside statuses.
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The Meta-owned messaging app has yet to reveal when these adverts might roll out.
But in his interview with Brazilian publication Folha De S.Paulo, Cathcart assured users that ads would not be appearing during users’ “messaging experience”, including their inbox and chats.
So, it looks like the adverts will mostly appear inside WhatsApp’s new Channels feature, which allows users to follow topics close to them.
It’s essentially a one-way broadcast tool for celebrities, businesses, sports clubs and even The Sun itself.
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Cathcart added that Channels could start charging people to subscribe.
The owners of specific Channels could soon also promote ads alongside their broadcasts.
But for now, all Channels are cost-free and ad-free.
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WhatsApp has been mulling the introduction of ads since 2018, according to The Verge.
Meta, which also owns cost-free apps Facebook and Instagram, makes around 97 per cent of its profits from advertisements.
However, bosses at WhatsApp feared ads may sour security-focused users.
Following Cathcart’s recent comments, users say ads spell the “end of the app” and that they “won’t be using it much longer”.
“The day this happens, I’ll move to Telegram or signal,” one user wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
Another tweeted: “What!!..Ads in WhatsApp.. That will definitely degrade user experience.”
A third user wrote: “It’s clear that @WhatsApp and @Meta have been aware of the potential risks and challenges of introducing ads to the platform, and have been grappling with how to approach this issue in a way that is mindful of user privacy and expectations.”
