When it became known that WhatsApp would have advertising, the news caused a great uproar. But now the plan seems to be on hold.
In November 2018, it was first announced that WhatsApp would be financed by advertising – over the course of last year, the company announced 2020 as the launch date – but now the plan seems to have changed. According to a new Wall Street Journal report According to reports, the Facebook team responsible for integrating advertising into WhatsApp has been completely disbanded. In addition, all code has apparently already been removed from the app. This means that no advertising will be visible in WhatsApp in the near future.
WhatsApp advertising – future remains unclear
Originally, advertising was to be introduced in status messages. At the time, the company claimed that it did not want to display advertising in chats. Despite this, the idea was generally not well received. Even WhatsApp founders Jan Koum and Brian Acton were against it from the start - they even ended up leaving the company completely. Whether and when WhatsApp will actually be monetized in this way remains to be seen for now - according to the Wall Street Journal, the plans are merely on hold and not permanently off the table. (Photo by bigtunaonline / Bigstockphoto)