Meta’s going to turn on the WhatsApp money hose
Meta’s WhatsApp is getting ads for the first time, news that sent the social media stock up 2% in early trading.
After buying the popular messaging app more than a decade ago — in a $19 billion deal which was derided by some given that the company had just 55 employees at the time — Mark Zuckerberg and co. finally plan on making some extra money from one of the world’s most popular apps.
And, because Meta is really good at making money from marketers and less successful in its other endeavors, that means advertising is finally coming to WhatsApp, with promotions set to show in the Updates tab of the app to “help” the 1.5 billion people who use that section per day “find channels and products you’re interested in,” Meta said in a press release. Ads will not show in the personal messaging portion of the app, the company said.