It’s official.
After some speculation, WhatsApp has confirmed it will start rolling out its new ad feature very soon.
According to Mashable the messaging app – which allows its users to text, share Stories, picture and more – will let business to advertise on the app very soon.
“We are going to be putting ads in ‘Status’. That is going to be primary monetization mode for the company as well as an opportunity for businesses to reach people on WhatsApp,” the company’s Vice President, Chris Daniels said.
Users should expect to see ads popping up within their WhatsApp Stories and Status in 2019.Â
WhatsApp used to charge its users $1 (approx Dhs3.67) per year in order to use its services.
According to The Next Web, “. . . since making WhatsApp free – and drastically increasing user numbers – Facebook has discussed various approaches to monetize the app. These seemingly included the aforementioned Status ads, selling analytics, or charging a fee after a certain number of messages.”
While it will be annoying to see ad’s in WhatsApp Stories and Status, most users probably will be happy they won’t have to pay to use the messaging service.
What are your thoughts on WhatsApp ads? Would you rather pay to use WhatsApp or would prefer to see ads? Let us know in the comments below.
Written by: Doa’a El Khouly. Photo credit: Shutterstock.