The company is already developing ad tech for the iPhone Whatsapp users
Once again, Mark Zuckerberg has proven that Facebook has failed to protect our personal data with the recent 50 million data breach. Now the company has confirmed that ads will be filling up everyone’s favourite social chat app, Whatsapp. This will kick off from 2019.
So for those consumers who have a knack for updating their statuses through Whatsapp’s Status stories feature, you will be sorely disappointed. Facebook wants to interrupt some of these Statuses with short ads, although details are light.
WhatsApp’s co-founders were famously against ads, and supportive of encrypted messaging – two major reasons why the app has become so popular.
A WhatsApp spokesperson confirmed this change would take place next year, but said all messages would stay “end-to-end encrypted”.
Facebook bought WhatsApp back in 2014 for $22billion, making it one of the biggest tech acquisitions of all time.
Unfortunately, co-founders Jan Koum and Brian Acton weren’t fully aware of Facebook’s plans for WhatsApp in the long run.
Specifically, they didn’t realise Facebook wanted to start sharing data across platforms to help target ads at users.
Shortly after the buy-out, Facebook changed its terms of service to enable data-sharing between WhatsApp and Facebook.
The company was eventually fined for $122million by the European Union for misleading regulators about the buy-out.
Brian quit WhatsApp in September last year, and was followed by Jan in April 2018 – both citing differences with Facebook.
He also said: “I sold my users’ privacy to a larger benefit.
“I made a choice and a compromise. And I live with that every day.” His latest Twitter post, sent way back on March 21, reads: “It is time. #deletefacebook.”
It is time. #deletefacebook
— Brian Acton (@brianacton) March 20, 2018
Just last month, Facebook’s chief security officer Alex Stamos defended the potential use of ads on WhatsApp. He wrote: “It is foolish to expect that FB shareholders are going to subsidise a free text/voice/video global communications network forever.
“Eventually, WhatsApp is going to need to generate revenue. “This could come from directly charging for the service, it could come from advertising…”
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