Facebook-owned Whatsapp messenger is going to undergo a huge change because no service can be absolutely free for eternity. The company has moved from grabbing lots of data to explicit ads and even recording all your activities through the Facebook app. The next step is to provide ads on a messaging service and baffling users when they can’t deduce between messages and sponsored ads.
If rumors are to be believed, Facebook has been exploring the possibility of displaying ads inside the app for a very long time. At the same time, the company is skeptical about losing their user base on Whatsapp or Instagram, after having purchased the brands for billions of dollars. While it was in beta for a very long time, it never made its way to the final version.
The latest update suggests Facebook could implement advertisements which will link user accounts to Facebook to understand what they like the most. This enables them to better understand a customer’s needs and display ads that are most likely to receive a click. Targeted advertisements are vital to convert a visitor into a customer which FB will achieve by making use of their massive pool of users and the pages they liked.
Whatsapp implements end to end encryption for complete privacy. However, if data is received from Facebook on likes and pages you follow, it makes it easier to understand how to attract more users to their sponsors. Introducing ads could have an effect on its user base as many are already adopting multiple options including WeChat, Telegram, Kik among many others. It is to be seen how Facebook handles the crisis without losing millions of people who are on the platform for years now.
The trend may also introduce a paid version of the service if people don’t want to see any kind of ads on their apps.
