WhatsApp denies report that the platform is exploring ads
WhatsApp denies report that the platform is exploring ads: The CEO of WhatsApp refuted a Financial Times article on Friday claiming that the messaging service, which is owned by Meta Platforms (META.O), was looking at running ads in an effort to increase income.
“This report from @FT is untrue. Head of WhatsApp Will Cathcart said, “We aren’t doing this,” in a post on the social networking site X, which was once known as Twitter.
According to a source citing individuals familiar with the situation, teams at Meta were debating whether or not to display advertising in lists of discussions with contacts on the WhatsApp chat interface, but no decisions had been taken at this point.
As per FT, Meta was also considering the possibility of charging a membership fee for ad-free app use.
“We can’t account for every conversation someone had in our company,” WhatsApp said in a statement to the Financial Times. “We are not testing this, working on it, and it’s not our plan at all,” the company said. More than a few firm insiders opposed the decision, according to FT.
WhatsApp has always been a free communication software that Facebook purchased for $19 billion in 2014.
Meta has already been attempting to increase WhatsApp’s earnings. Last year, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that corporate messaging will “probably be the next major pillar” of Meta’s business, with Messenger and WhatsApp powering the company’s next wave of sales growth.
As of June of this year, WhatsApp’s Business app served over 200 million users on its platform—a four-fold increase from just three years before.
Also Read –
- ARM lifts Nasdaq ahead of NYSE on IPO capital raises
- Dollar hovers below 3-month high to euro as ECB decision looms
