Ever since Facebook was acquired by WhatsApp, many have been wondering how Facebook plans to monetize the otherwise free app. Given how much Facebook paid for the company, it is without doubt that they do plan on recouping those expenses. Last year there were plans to introduce ads, but earlier this year Facebook decided to ditch that idea.
However, according to a report from The Information (paywall), it claims that Facebook has not given up completely and still plan on eventually introducing ads. This was confirmed in a statement made to Engadget in which a Facebook spokesperson confirmed that ads are still a long-term opportunity for WhatsApp that they are still exploring.
The report goes on to claim that one of the reasons why Facebook ditched their plans earlier this year was because they wanted to avoid antagonizing regulators. Given Facebook’s somewhat bad reputation regarding user privacy, the company has come under intense scrutiny and ads would have definitely not helped their situation.
There were also internal concerns amongst company executives who were worried that introducing ads would result in users deleting their accounts. When exactly these ads will start being implemented remains to be seen, so expect that they will eventually show up one day.
Filed in . Read more about Facebook and Whatsapp. Source: engadget