WhatsApp introduces advertising: What users need to know now!

WhatsApp introduces advertising: What users need to know now!

What's happening! WhatsApp, the popular messaging app, announces the launch of advertising in the News section. In the future, users will have to expect advertisements that will be displayed in this area. Meta, the parent company of WhatsApp, confirmed this news today via the short messaging service X. The “News” section, which is already frequented by around 1.5 billion users every day, includes subscribed channels and status reports from contacts. So if you mainly use WhatsApp for private messages, nothing will change for you for the time being, as Tagesschau reports.

The new ads will be rolled out gradually over the coming months. This gives users the opportunity to publish their pictures and videos as status reports for 24 hours. While personal conversations and calls continue to be protected by end-to-end encryption, the use of Messenger could change due to advertisements. WhatsApp now has over three billion monthly active users, following a 2014 acquisition by Facebook for around $22 billion.

Privacy concerns in focus

One point that concerns many users is the data protection issues related to the new strategy. Meta wants to use basic information such as location, language and interactions with ads to advertise in the “What’s New” section. Data protection advocates such as Max Schrems from the organization None Of Your Business (NOYB) sharply criticize this approach and speak of illegal data linking that occurs without the voluntary consent of the user. NOYB is already considering legal action against Meta and has filed a complaint against the new subscription model, which includes fees for ad-free use of Facebook and Instagram.

The allegations are no coincidence: Last year, NOYB obtained a ruling from the European Court of Justice that prohibited Meta from processing personal user data in certain cases. The recent announcement has already caused Meta's shares to rise 2.5 percent on Wall Street, showing that investors are optimistic about the future, despite criticism of advertising on WhatsApp.

The introduction of advertising on the platform could be a game-changer for how WhatsApp is perceived, especially since the company originally promised to go ad-free. So far, little is known about the exact details and partners for advertising, and when exactly the innovations will arrive in Germany in particular remains to be seen. However, one thing is certain: Messenger is facing a significant change in the way users experience the service.