Facebook Shelves Controversial Plan to Insert Ads into WhatsApp

[MacRumors]

Facebook's controversial plan to sell ads in WhatsApp has been put on the back-burner, according to a new report today from The Wall Street Journal.

WhatsApp in recent months disbanded a team that had been established to find the best ways to integrate ads into the service, according to people familiar with the matter. The team's work was then deleted from WhatsApp's code, the people said.

Plans to monetize WhatsApp were floated no longer after Facebook acquired the messaging service in February 2014 for $22 billion. WhatsApp co-founder Jan Koum and Brian Acton continually pushed back against the plans, which were a factor that ultimately led both men to quit the company.

Prior to leaving, Koum and Acton changed WhatsApp's terms of service to explicitly forbid displaying ads in the app, which complicated Facebook's future efforts to do so, according to WSJ's sources.

Facebook has changed its platforms' terms of service in the past, but introducing ads on WhatsApp would have required a formal notification of users, creating a potential public-relations problem for Facebook.

Still, Facebook hasn't completely given up on inserting ads into WhatsApp, and reportedly plans to add them to the app's Status feature "at some point." Status allows users to create short-lived posts similar to Instagram's Stories.

However, for now the focus is said to be on developing money-making features that enable businesses to communicate with customers and better manage those interactions.

Before the acquisition, WhatsApp was initially a paid-for app and later transitioned to a $0.99 annual subscription service. Facebook made the service free after buying it and later unveiled its own revenue-generating plans for the platform, which has 1.5 billion users globally.

Article Link: Facebook Shelves Controversial Plan to Insert Ads into WhatsApp

 

[miflgr92]

WhatsApp and Instagram were both so much better before Facebook bought them. Every single change to both apps since Zuckerberg got ahold of them have been negative and not user-friendly. I really hope Facebook eventually goes the way of MySpace but I fear it is too engrained into society at this point

 

[Keane16]

If ads appear in Whatsapp I'll be pushing hard for all my friends and family to switch to Telegram. I already use it with a section of my friends and family and it's a superior UX IMO.

WhatsApp and Instagram were both so much better before Facebook bought them. Every single change to both apps since Zuckerberg got ahold of them have been negative and not user-friendly.

I don't use Instagram. But I'm a heavy user of Whatsapp. What's gotten worse? I've not really noticed anything negative in terms of day to day use.

 

[cableguy84]

Hopefully Facebook gets broken up in the near future. Forcing facebook to sell whatsapp/insta would be a good start.

 

[jlwarlow]

That's good because WhatsApp selling upto 80% of the screen even without inducing seizures would be a bad idea!

 

[Agit21]

No way I’m ever using iMessage again. No desktop app, no way to simply use another SIM card when I’m abroad for a few weeks and still using iMessage with my normal phone number.

 

[H3LL5P4WN]

WhatsApp and Instagram were both so much better before Facebook bought them. Every single change to both apps since Zuckerberg got ahold of them have been negative and not user-friendly. I really hope Facebook eventually goes the way of MySpace but I fear it is too engrained into society at this point

Failbook will never be as good as MySpace was.

 

[GeoStructural]

No way I’m ever using iMessage again. No desktop app, no way to simply use another SIM card when I’m abroad for a few weeks and still using iMessage with my normal phone number.

That’s what few Of my Americans understand. iMessage is restrictive and feature-lacking, WhatsApp is used around the world, you can send books, do conferences, free calls, etc.

 

[Sasparilla]

Nice to see. I'm sure that won't be the end of it though, while monetizing people's WhasApp connections (who you message / call and when - selling that to company's and presumably governments) is good for some money, Facebook will come back at this again...its their repeated history as a Company.

Have to laugh at the iMessage attack in the comments, just out of the blue - wasn't even discussed in the article or prior comments. Privacy is much greater with iMessage or Signal and for alot of people that has value - especially when you don't know what your government is going to be like in 10 years (as we've seen in recent years in many countries).

 

[Cosmosent]

Hey Zuck, How about a Sub that offers support for BIG file transfers, up-to 1 GB ?

iMessage is limited to 100 MB.

If FB were to offer a Sub Option that enabled WhatsApp Users to send up-to 10 GB per month, for $0.99 USD per month, I'd bet at least some would pay up for that.

This is something I've been EXTREMELY surprised AAPL has never offered !

 

[mcilwraith]

No way I’m ever using iMessage again. No desktop app, no way to simply use another SIM card when I’m abroad for a few weeks and still using iMessage with my normal phone number.

Messages does indeed have a desktop app. And its much better than WhatsApp. Can send messages straight to iCloud, does not require phonetic. Whatapp desktop app is clunky.

 

[TwoBytes]

Whatsapp is one of those few most popular app in the world that hasn't got dark mode yet.
That's it, not related but I wanted to vent

 

[Puppuccino]

*London borough accent*

Get your fresh data ‘ere, pound for-uh pound, get fresh personal data!

 

[JGIGS]

Messages does indeed have a desktop app. And its much better than WhatsApp. Can send messages straight to iCloud, does not require phonetic. Whatapp desktop app is clunky.

Not everyone is able to use a Mac all the time. Having a desktop app solely on a Mac isnt the same as having whatsapp apps available on multi platforms one or having a webased whatsapp. Also no ability to reply and quote a message is a big time missing feature in Messages. Pretty sure most iPhone users would rather use messages if it was multi platform, had a web app and the same features as other other messaging applications have.

Apparently Apple thought it was more important to be able to send talking emojis and fire works then quote a message. It’s only redeeming quality is probably privacy. I say probably because I don’t really know how private Apple is with user data but at least more likely to be more private than FB.

 

[akash.nu]

If ads appear in Whatsapp I'll be pushing hard for all my friends and family to switch to Telegram. I already use it with a section of my friends and family and it's a superior UX IMO.



I don't use Instagram. But I'm a heavy user of Whatsapp. What's gotten worse? I've not really noticed anything negative in terms of day to day use.

I’ve abandoned WhatsApp the minute the founders left. Been on signal since and enjoying life!

 

[Manatlt]

Messages does indeed have a desktop app. And its much better than WhatsApp. Can send messages straight to iCloud, does not require phonetic. Whatapp desktop app is clunky.

Let me check...
*checks*...nope! There's no iMessage for Windows. Mac isn't the only desktop OS.

I'm slowly moving to Telegram. Because I'm fed up with Apple refusing to put iMessage on other platforms. I want to use my laptop to send messages and attach things. And no, I'm not buying a MacBook.

 

[Wide opeN]

I have to admit... In addition to iMessage, I very much enjoy Whatsapp.

They both have their places.

 

[CarpalMac]

I’ve abandoned WhatsApp the minute the founders left. Been on signal since and enjoying life!

I left the moment Zucker "call me the messiah" berg got involved.

People target their privacy stick pointing posts at Google on here all the time and yet Facebook somehow seems to get almost a free pass. The things they do with data are far more insidious and sinister, IMO.

For example, I don't have an account but thanks to their snooping of my friends, they know about me.

This is how Facebook collects data on you even if you don’t have an account

There’s little you can do about it.

www.vox.com

And that is just what we have heard about.

 

[Smearbrick]

Ads everywhere these days. I’m waiting for companies to start selling ad space on my clothing.

 

[akash.nu]

I left the moment Zucker "call me the messiah" berg go involved.

People target their privacy stick pointing posts at Google on here all the time and yet Facebook somehoe seems to get almost a free pass. The things they do with data are, far more insidious and sinister, IMO.

For example, I don't have an account but thanks to their snooping of my friends, they know about me.

This is how Facebook collects data on you even if you don’t have an account

There’s little you can do about it.

www.vox.com

And that is just what we have heard about.

Exactly! Facebook’s knowledge graph is way too sophisticated.

 

[Dave-Z]

Ads everywhere these days. I’m waiting for companies to start selling ad space on my clothing.

Why are you giving them ideas?

(I mean, at least sell them the idea to make some money.)

 

[OlliFlamme]

Ads everywhere these days. I’m waiting for companies to start selling ad space on my clothing.

Why are you giving them ideas?

(I mean, at least sell them the idea to make some money.)

Erm... that’s already a mainstream media, folks. Welcome to the eighties and all the years that came after them.

Most people are walking advertisements, specially those that buy the cheaper and always heavily discounted brand clothes with huge logos on. If it has a huge logo, you can bet it was cheaper than the same brand stuff without it. It’s a routined way of marketing a brand. All the wanna be’s go and rush to the sales to grab their clothes of brands they not typically buy.

Class people buy those with small branding, mostly non contrasting logos. So one has to look for the details in order to know what brand they’re wearing.

The next level has been reached: we can pack our bags and look for the land of decency