WhatsApp chief Will Cathcart says company can show ads, but not in main inbox: Report

WhatsApp According to the company’s top executive, advertisements may be shown to users in some parts of the app. In a recent interview with the Brazilian publication, WhatsApp Head Will Cathcart Confirmed that the messaging platform will not display ads in the main inbox or chats, but ads can be shown in two other sections of the app. This revelation comes two months after the company denied a report that claimed WhatsApp was planning to show ads to users to monetize the service.

Folha D.S. In an interview with Paulo (in Brazil) Cathcart said That WhatsApp will remain ad-free in the app’s inbox and inside chats. “The reason I qualify my answer is that there may be ads in other places – channels or statuses. For example, channels may charge people to subscribe, they may have specials for paid members. Are, or the owner may want to promote the channel. But no, we will not put ads in the inbox,” the executive told the publication (translated from Brazil).

There is no information from the company about when ads will appear in the status or channel sections on the app. This revelation comes after it was revealed that WhatsApp can show ads to users in specific parts of the app. Cathcart refused A report in September said the platform was planning to display ads in the list of conversations with contacts – the default view when a user opens the app.

This is not the first time that WhatsApp has reportedly explored the possibility of adding ads to the popular chat application. In 2019, there was news that WhatsApp was planning to show advertisements to users. through status feature Which allows users to share pictures and videos just like Instagram and Facebook Stories. WhatsApp is currently monetized by offering business messaging features that allow companies to access the app’s huge user base – the Meta-owned messaging service has more than 2 billion users.

A report in August 2020 said that WhatsApp was planning to show advertisements in the app Using phone numbers To match users’ Facebook and WhatsApp accounts and provide targeted advertisements to users. At the time, it was reported that the company would be serving these ads after the completion of the planned integration of its three messaging platforms – WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook Messenger.