- WhatsApp is finally receiving ads
- They will appear on the update tab, integrated with states and channels
- Regular chats will not be affected by the chnages, and are still deprived
It is official, the last WhatsApp update is bringing ads to the platform.
My initial reaction to this news was to fear that conversations with my friends could be diluted by emerging windows as seen in Messenger (another Meta messaging service). Fortunately, however, it seems that WhatsApp maintains its blocked ads inside its update tab. At least for now.
In the update tab, you will find that both channels and states are receiving advertisement treatment. The channels are groups dedicated to those who can join, with hosts that send messages and updates. They are popular among football teams, influencers and the media (in fact, here in Techradar we have one that you can join).
The ads come in the form of new promoted channels, which will soon begin to appear when you look through the Board of Directors. They will be recommended based on what WhatsApp believes that you will find interesting, assuming that the channel is paying to be promoted.
The states (basically WhatsApp’s stories) are ways of sharing rapid and highlighted updates with friends and family. Now the ads will also appear as stouses, again promoted for you depending on your interests.
In addition to these changes, WhatsApp is adding channel subscriptions. These are not ads, but they are another form (and in my opinion better) to monetize whatsapp.
When paying a monthly rate, you can support your favorite channel and obtain exclusive updates in return, a little as it does through third -party services such as Patreon or premium bulletins.
WhatsApp has hooked
After digging the changes, I am usually less worried than when I learned about the ad.
Use the update tab, and as explained by the WhatsApp blog “if you only use WhatsApp to chat with friends and loved ones, there is no change in your experience.”
Below, he adds that these ads will not affect their privacy either. “Your messages, calls and personal states remain encrypted from end to extreme, which means that no one (neither us) can see or listen to them.”
Meta explains that the state ads and channels will be based on the limited information that collects where it is, the language that its application is configured, what channels it already follows and how it relates to the ads shown.
If your WhatsApp is part of its Meta Accounts Center, it will also base your data on the information of your other accounts.
You are really trying to mark home that our chat data is as safe as ever, and that chats without updates will not be changed.
It feels like the beginning of a slippery slope for me, but like the rest of the 3 billion monthly active users of WhatsApp, a figure that makes it the largest messaging platform in the world, I know I can’t leave.
That is not just because I do not want to lose the chats and contacts that I already have through the application (migrating to everyone at a different service would be a Sisifean task), but also because, as someone who travels a lot, it is an excellent agnostic platform in the country that has allowed me to make restaurant reservations, book taxis and a car repair company when I could not have not been able to have not being able to do it.
So, for now I stay with WhatsApp, but I am also starting my search for a new service, even considering returning to classic text messages or Android Google messages, which has received some updates in recent years.
Even if things get worse, I’m not sure I can leave either, but the best I can do is try.
