WhatsApp says that ads may appear in the app, but not with chat messages

WhatsApp may get ads in the future, but it won’t be in the inbox or in chat messages. The head of WhatsApp said this in an interview with a Brazilian medium. It could be done in the new Channels function.

Will Cathcart, head of WhatsApp at Meta, says to Folha de S. Paulo for example, WhatsApp can charge an amount if users take out a subscription via Channels or that it can show advertisements within the Channels function of the app. Channels are the messaging channels in WhatsApp where, for example, companies and celebrities can let followers know.

WhatsApp started with a revenue model of charging 1 euro per year to each user, but never continued with that. After the acquisition by Facebook, later Meta, in 2013, the service remained free for years. Meta had previously said that it wanted to place advertisements in WhatsApp. In September, Catchcart denied that WhatsApp was actively working on implementing ads.