
WhatsApp users will start seeing in-app ads within ‘Status’ feature from 2020 - recursion
http://9to5google.com/2019/05/23/whatsapp-ads-2020/
======
b_tterc_p
Has anyone here gone to the Facebook marketing summit? What’s that like?

When they announce the intention to put more ads into the app, do people
cheer?

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isoprophlex
WhatsApp is my primary messaging app, time to switch over to something else.
It can go fuck itself sideways if FB starts adding ads.

Some years ago there was the option of paying, which was removed around 2016.
I understand that not everybody cares about this, but PLEASE give me the
option not to see ads. There's enough bullshit advertising in my life already

[]
[https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/jan/18/whatsapp-...](https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/jan/18/whatsapp-
drops-subscription-fee-free)

~~~
jotaf
Not affiliated in any way, but you should give Signal a try.

The hardest part with any IM service is going to be convincing your friends to
join though. I wish someone came up with a good way to overcome this "critical
mass" problem.

~~~
Goronmon
My wife and I tried Signal in the past and ran into situations where messages
were lost or sometimes delayed by hours, some showing up well after other
messages were, making conversations occasionally very frustrating.

Messaging apps are definitely one of those situations where I expect things to
work all of the time, not just most of the time.

~~~
lighthazard
I've had no issues with Telegram, and I think, although less secure than
Signal, it's a great option to replace Whatsapp.

~~~
toper-centage
Feature wise telegram is definitely the best challenger right now. Signal is
good but not as good. I wish it was better because of privacy. I like telegram
too much now.

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pdog
Here's a blog post from WhatsApp in 2012 on why they don't sell ads:

[https://web.archive.org/web/20120619170843/http://blog.whats...](https://web.archive.org/web/20120619170843/http://blog.whatsapp.com/index.php/2012/06/why-
we-dont-sell-ads/)

~~~
mehdix
I remember when I read that article. It was a great idea. When they sold
WhatsApp to Facebook however, I realized that this is potentially the fate of
any for-profit business.

~~~
brianacton
I agree. That's why I have become a much bigger champion for non-profit
businesses.

~~~
lenova
Hey Brian, great to see you on here. Any updates or thoughts as to where
Signal is these days? I would love to switch over to it as my primary
messenger, but the majority of my non-tech friends haven't heard of it before.

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ceejayoz
> While ads themselves aren’t exactly the most welcome inclusion, this will be
> a much-preferred method than intrusive banner ads.

There's no reason to believe it'll stop here.

Instagram was ad-free for quite some time. Now every third or fourth post is a
big, unmissable ad. Same thing in stories.

~~~
rchaud
> Instagram was ad-free for quite some time. Now every third or fourth post is
> a big, unmissable ad. Same thing in stories.

Stopped using Instagram because even the "organic" posts are ads or product
placement of some sort. It seems like every time someone hits 10k subs or
more, their content becomes >50% ads.

~~~
ceejayoz
I follow primarily friends, family, and a few hobbyists in my chosen hobbies
(model trains, space/rockets, etc.). It's been no trouble to curate - more
than one "sponsored" post probably means I unfollow you, as do memes. The end
result (barring their ads) is a really nice feed of pictures that are either
cool or interesting to me personally.

~~~
rchaud
Family and Friends post boring stuff for the most part. I was on Instagram for
other things like photography, interior design and memes. The first 2
categories will obviously have "sponsor content", but when meme pages started
shilling products, it was over for me.

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Bakary
It's always funny to remember that the smartest people currently alive are
probably in some FAANG office figuring out how to monetize online platforms
through whatever means possible.

~~~
ionised
Why do you think they are the smartest people alive, compared to say, a
scientist at CERN?

~~~
Bakary
I was parroting a classic quote [0], but you are right: my statement was
needlessly cynical. To rephrase, I'd say an enormous proportion of the
smartest humans alive are involved in zero-sum redistribution games that offer
no socially useful outcomes. The costs of being poor and the rewards of being
wealthy are each so enormous in our world that I can't blame them.

[0] [https://www.fastcompany.com/3008436/why-data-god-jeffrey-
ham...](https://www.fastcompany.com/3008436/why-data-god-jeffrey-hammerbacher-
left-facebook-found-cloudera)

~~~
chillacy
Without entering into an argument over the definition of smart, I understand
what you're getting at. The top graduates of the top schools empty into
finance, big law, medicine, and now big tech. Though it gives me some hope
that startups are starting to get their share of talent too, now that
companies like YC or VFA are basically throwing money at it.

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jillesvangurp
Good, that will maybe drive more people to alternate platforms. The only
reason I have it installed at all is that my non techie friends insist on
using it for whatever reason. It's not like I have a shortage of similarly
capable chat & call apps installed on my phone.

E.g. Signal is pretty much there in terms of capabilities to take over. All
that's needed is a gentle nudge. Some ads should help for that.

------
Nextgrid
Yet another thing consumed by the cancer that is advertising.

~~~
rchaud
The real cancer is SV companies growing to an enormous scale without ever
figuring out how to get people to pay for it. Once the price ceiling is $0,
there is no other way to monetize except by destroying the experience with
increasingly intrusive advertising.

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mehdix
I use WhatsApp for one single reason: it is not yet blocked in Iran so I can
talk to my loved ones. Signal and Telegram for the rest.

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xchaotic
Why can't they just carry on charging people like they used to. Greed + middle
management stupidity.

Someone at Facebook is proud of their smartness and will probably get a title
like Senior Manager for messaging advertising.

The trouble with switching IM is that everyone needs to switch as well.

~~~
JumpCrisscross
> _Why can 't they just carry on charging people like they used to_

They believe they can earn more from ads than they can from paying
subscribers.

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vincent-toups
Is there any popular web based business that isn't a bait and switch?

~~~
fghtr
Not sure if popular, but Librem One is very promising.

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discordance
I would rather pay than see ads and fall prey to all the targeting and data
mining. Take my money Facebook, please.

~~~
rprime
I am assuming that one of the reasons they won't let users pay to opt out of
ads might be because paying users are the most valuable for advertisers. They
wouldn't let their most valuable target pool out of the advertiser's hands.

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paglia_s
In Europe, they're not going to use data from your FB account to show ads,
right?

Given that last year they agreed not to share data
[https://www.theverge.com/2018/3/14/17120446/whatsapp-user-
da...](https://www.theverge.com/2018/3/14/17120446/whatsapp-user-data-sharing-
facebook-uk-privacy-ico-protection-gdpr-europe)

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aerodog
Telegram time.

