You’re about to hate WhatsApp just as much as you hated the finale of “Game of Thrones.”
Whether you want it or not, in 2020 your favorite messaging app will include ads.
This was announced at the Facebook Marketing Summit 2019 in Rotterdam.
The ads will be similar to those on Instagram. They will appear as you navigate through the app.
The good news is that they will not be as annoying as you might have feared. The ad will be in the form of a video or photo. You can swipe the ad the go to the advertiser’s page, or just scroll past it.
Also announced: WhatsApp Business, the app for companies, will have new functions including more complex message formats.
These initiatives by Facebook are meant to help monetize the application with more than 1.5 billion active users.
Up until now, WhatsApp was the only app under the Facebook umbrella that did not run advertisements. It was just a matter of time before this happened.