Internally, Meta, the parent company of Facebook, is contemplating the idea of generating income from its immensely popular messaging service, WhatsApp, this revelation comes from a recent report by the Financial Times.
Discussions are underway within Meta regarding the possibility of displaying advertisements within WhatsApp chat lists, though no final decisions have been reached, the company is treading carefully due to concerns that such a move might alienate users.
Meta is also considering the option of introducing subscription fees for ad-free use of the application, although many stakeholders are opposed to this idea.
Before Facebook’s acquisition of WhatsApp in 2014 for a staggering $19 billion, the co-founder of WhatsApp, Brian Acton, had famously declared that the platform would remain ad-free, without games or gimmicks, early discussions aiming to change this long-standing stance are shedding light on Meta’s desire to monetize its ad-free messaging platform.
Meta heavily relies on advertising revenue, which faced challenges during periods of economic uncertainty, this prompted investors to question the company’s multi-billion-dollar bets on virtual reality and the metaverse.
The company’s outlook has improved since it embarked on what it termed an “efficiency year” and laid off tens of thousands of employees, in July, Meta reported its first double-digit growth in revenue since 2021, with advertising accounting for the vast majority, amounting to $31.5 billion.
WhatsApp, with its 2.23 billion monthly active users, enjoys significant popularity compared to other Meta-owned platforms like Messenger and Instagram, some executives are concerned that adopting this new model could deteriorate the WhatsApp user experience, potentially driving users toward alternative free messaging options.
WhatsApp responded to the reports, stating, “We can’t take someone’s private conversation on our platform and make it public, and we don’t test or work on such a plan. That’s not our approach.”
In response, WhatsApp’s CEO, Will Cathcart, denied the Financial Times’ report, saying via his [platform] post, “This Financial Times story is untrue. We are not doing this.”
It remains to be seen how Meta will navigate the delicate balance between increasing revenue and maintaining a positive user experience within WhatsApp.
