WhatsApp was originally designed to be an ad-free platform by its co-founders Brian Acton and Jan Koum. Now that the messenger is in the hands of Facebook, things are about to get really annoying with the introduction of ads.
Popular WhatsApp tracker WABetaInfo has found evidence of a new version that will show ads in the Status section for iOS devices.
And I want to add: WhatsApp is already working to implement ads in the iOS app. https://t.co/eL55pu1kFR
— WABetaInfo (@WABetaInfo) September 27, 2018
The ads will appear similar to Instagram — in the form of stories.
We already know that ad-targeting is not possible unless they acquire some sort of personal data. Now, this data could be obtained by reading our personal chats or by taking the data associated with our Facebook accounts.
Over the time, you would probably see ads based on what you talk about frequently. WhatsApp co-founders also left the platform because they didn’t like the idea of ads on the app.
Recently, Brian Acton revealed that Facebook already had plans in place to show ads on WhatsApp – way before it was acquired in 2014.
Similarly, the growing tension between Zuckerberg and Instagram co-founders also forced the latter to step down from their position.
At the time of Instagram acquisition, Facebook had promised it would let the photo-sharing platform operate independently but things aren’t the same now.
So it is clear that the social media giant wants to make more money at the expense of user privacy and comfort.
In fact, Facebook is developing another data analytics system which will let advertisers extract data related to purchases you make and throw ads accordingly.
Also Read: Facebook Could Face $1.63 Billion Fine Over Latest Hack Under GDPR
