Given that WhatsApp no longer has an annual subscription fee and that the app is free to download, it has left many wondering how on earth does Facebook plan to monetize it, especially given how much they paid for it. Turns out it is pretty simple: ads, except that these ads will come in WhatsApp Statuses.
This is according to a tweet by WABetaInfo who claims that the latest beta of the app for Android contains elements that indicates that ads for statuses is in the works. For those who are unfamiliar, WhatsApp Status is basically Instagram Stories, except that it is for WhatsApp. Admittedly Instagram is the only platform that seems to have had the most success with the feature.
WhatsApp beta for Android 2.18.305: WhatsApp is implementing in this version ads for Status.
They are not visible yet and the feature will be enabled in future.— WABetaInfo (@WABetaInfo) October 5, 2018
Facebook tried to implement it in its main app and WhatsApp got the Status feature as well, but it’s safe to say that the levels of engagement are nowhere as near to Instagram. However given how many WhatsApp users there are out there, it is still a very viable platform to serve ads through Status. It is unclear as to how it will be implemented, but it is possible that it could be similar to Instagram, where ads are inserted in between Stories.