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WhatsApp is exploring a new feature that would show ads in the app for the first time, a move that has sparked internal controversy as parent company Meta seeks to monetize the world’s most popular messaging service.
The Meta team has been discussing whether to show ads in contact conversation lists on WhatsApp chat screens, but has not yet made a final decision, according to three people familiar with the matter.
However, a person familiar with the discussions said the concept sparked debate at the top of the company over concerns it would alienate users.
Meta is also considering whether to charge a subscription fee to use the app, two of the people said, but many insiders oppose the move.
Before WhatsApp was acquired by Facebook for $19 billion in 2014, its co-founder Brian Acton once said “No ads! No games! No gimmicks!” as the company’s slogan.
WhatsApp makes money by charging users $1 to download the app.
Facebook (they say) supports our mission and vision.
Brian even wrote this famous note: pic.twitter.com/A6ufhkMIuX
— Neeraji Arora (@neerajarora) May 4, 2022
Discussions of breaking that long-standing stance, while still in their early stages, underscore Meta’s desire to monetize one of its few platforms that remains ad-free.
“We can’t account for every conversation someone has in the company, but we haven’t tested it, we haven’t studied it, and it’s simply not our plan,” WhatsApp said.
Meta has struggled to shore up its advertising revenue, which has taken a hit during a period of macroeconomic uncertainty as investors fret about the company’s multibillion-dollar bets on virtual reality and the Metaverse.
Its outlook has improved since the company entered a “efficiency year” and cut tens of thousands of jobs. In July, the company reported double-digit revenue growth for the first time since 2021, with the vast majority ($31.5 billion) coming from its advertising business in the second quarter.
“There’s definitely a lot of opportunity for advertising on WhatsApp,” said Ed East, CEO of advertising agency Billion Dollar Boy. He said it was an “attractive prospect” for marketers but had the potential to be seen as “intrusive” by users.
WhatsApp counts 200 million small businesses among its regular users, and the company recently tested a feature that allows businesses to send direct marketing messages within WhatsApp to users who have agreed to receive those messages.
The new feature, once rolled out, will mean that all WhatsApp users will see ads appearing next to chats with friends and relatives.
A person familiar with internal discussions said the interface would look similar to how ads are distributed in Facebook Messenger chats and Gmail emails. These ads will not appear within the chat conversation itself.
One person added that some executives are concerned that following this model will degrade the WhatsApp experience and prompt users to abandon the app in favor of other free options.
Estimates from mobile app analyst Data.ai show that WhatsApp, with 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
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