As if autoplay videos in newsfeed were not annoying enough, Facebook has started rolling out autoplay video advertisements in Messenger from Monday. The Head of Facebook Messenger’s ad business Stefanos Loukakos has confirmed to Recode that autoplay video advertisements have been introduced on the messenger app.
With this decision, you will be forced to watch video ads right next to your personal conversations on the messenger. Static ads already exist in the messenger, but since video ads are a source of more revenue for Facebook, therefore, they have taken this step.
It has been mentioned several times by Facebook in past that they are running out of the places to put advertisements in the Facebook app and which is why ads can now be seen in Marketplace, an app that runs on the lines of Craiglist and is owned by Facebook.
From a user’s point of view, autoplay ads in Facebook messenger can be annoying especially when they start playing with sound.
In an email to Recode, Loukakos said: “Top priority for us is user experience, so we don’t know yet [if these will work]. However, signs until now, when we tested basic ads, didn’t show any changes with how people used the platform or how many messages they send”.
Advertisers who wish to run their ads on the messenger can do so by opting for paid Facebook ad campaigns. As of now, no option has been provided to run ads only on the Messenger.
What do you think of this decision of Facebook? Will it hamper Facebook’s audience?
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