this post was submitted on 16 Jun 2025

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WhatsApp is officially getting ads (www.theverge.com)

submitted 18 hours ago* (last edited 18 hours ago) by MazonnaCara89@lemmy.ml to c/technology@lemmy.world

133 comments fedilink hide all child comments

WhatsApp is rolling out ads. In an update on Monday, Meta announced that it will now show ads from businesses through its Stories-like status feature.

Meta says it will tailor the ads to your interests by using “limited” information, including your country or city, language, the channels you follow, and how you interact with ads on the platform. You can also change your ad preferences from Meta’s Accounts Center.

This isn’t the only change Meta is making to WhatsApp. The company will also start showing promoted channels when you click on the Explore button to find new ones to follow. It’s also rolling out the ability to subscribe to channels to “receive exclusive updates” as well.

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[–] nothrone@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 8 minutes ago

WhatsApp getting ads is great news! WhatsApp, and any other meta/facebook/for-profit-social-network will never be a good product. Therefore, the second best alternative is for it to be as bad as possible, so people finally change to worthy alternatives.

What is the alternative here? Don't know, perhaps Signal, though the devs are not welcoming at all. The UI is absolute shit. Looks like UI for old people, huge margins and empty space. My screen fits like 3 chats. A compact theme would take a few hours to create and vastly improve the product, but ya..

[–] JamonBear@sh.itjust.works 6 points 2 hours ago (2 children)

delta.chat

The enshittify proof alternative!

[–] SpiderUnderUrBed@lemmy.zip 5 points 1 hour ago

Would signal also work?

[–] ace_garp@lemmy.world 1 points 1 hour ago

Yes, encrypted chats packetised over SMTP layer.

Smooth as silk for a year and a half.

Send pics, voicemails, files, videos, and video-chat(via Jitsi integration)

Arcane-chat app does location sharing too.

[–] Ronno@feddit.nl 15 points 3 hours ago

This is such great news! More ammo to use when trying to convince friends and family to move away from WhatsApp

[–] Auth@lemmy.world 23 points 4 hours ago (5 children)

provide free app at a loss
grow massive user base and market share
squeeze your userbase for every cent they're worth

Every single time. We got to solve the funding issue some how, I dont want to live in a future run by ads.

[–] ely@mastodon.green 1 points 23 minutes ago

@Auth
So that's why we donate to @signalapp
@MazonnaCara89

[–] Susurrus@lemm.ee 1 points 24 minutes ago* (last edited 23 minutes ago)

It's not very easy to solve the issue of infinite growth in a world with finite resources. The fundamental issue is that it's just not physically possible, but they keep trying. Either we continue this cycle and eventually destroy the planet irreversibly, or we acknowledge that maybe money isn't everything, and that maybe [the vast majority of] people aren't inherently egoitistical monsters, and we move on to different systems.

[–] tarknassus@lemmy.world 1 points 43 minutes ago

The enshittification process in a nutshell.

[–] bonjour@mander.xyz 6 points 3 hours ago (1 children)

WhatsApp was not free and already had a massive user base before Facebook bought it.

Hope this will turn people to alternatives.

[–] Darleys_Brew@lemmy.ml 2 points 48 minutes ago (1 children)

Wasn’t it like a quid to sign up?

[–] bonjour@mander.xyz 1 points 7 minutes ago

Yeah it was something like that, very low price compared to what SMS were charged for.

[–] hansolo 1 points 3 hours ago* (last edited 3 hours ago)

Eastern Europe loves the app Viber that Rakuten bought, which has had ads for years.

People LOVE a walled garden of their friends are there, too.

[–] Corn@lemmy.ml 4 points 3 hours ago* (last edited 1 hour ago) (1 children)

Do you have WhatsApp?

No Telegram?

I dont have that one, none of the clients seem to work on my phone... Wechat?

Cant verify, SMS doesnt get through. LINE?

lol I dont have a japanese number. Kakaotalk?

No... ...discord?

Sure!

Shit he's 30 seconds from finding out Im a furry.

[–] Nalivai@discuss.tchncs.de 1 points 54 minutes ago

none of the clients seem to work on my phone

Hm, first time I hear that one to be honest.

[–] aeternum@lemmy.blahaj.zone 8 points 4 hours ago* (last edited 4 hours ago)

I hope Signal does this too!

- no one ever.

[–] t_berium@lemmy.world 1 points 2 hours ago

Looks like I need an alternative. An alternative for which there is still no prospect of enshitification. Which services are neither American, Chinese nor Russian? Anything from Europe?

[–] sp3ctr4l@lemmy.dbzer0.com 13 points 7 hours ago (2 children)

I forgot WhatsApp existed.

Guess its shittier now.

Mhm. Yup.

[–] 100_kg_90_de_belin@feddit.it 19 points 5 hours ago

It's the go-to messagging app in my country for historical reasons.

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[–] drmoose@lemmy.world 3 points 5 hours ago* (last edited 5 hours ago)

I wonder whether Meta will try to lock down cross platform access now.

Currently Beeper still works everywhere and EU'S DMA (Digital Markets Act) still has WhatsApp as gate keeper which is required to interpolate with other chat apps. However "WhatsApp stories" are entirely different from chat so that means they can block all of that and this is probably how Meta will approach future WhatsApp updates - more shit to lock people in WhatsApp that isnt directly chat related because thats the only way to show people ads.

[–] Tillman@lemmy.world 2 points 5 hours ago (6 children)

Always a bit shocked to learn people still use WhatsApp.

[–] tarknassus@lemmy.world 2 points 39 minutes ago

All our clients use it. It's bloody annoying. I have dozens who use WhatsApp, and like three who use Signal. Ironically, the three that use Signal also use WhatsApp and guess which one they use to contact us?

It's a problem when it's got mass market traction to get people to switch. I'm still trying to get off Messenger but some people insist on it... Going to have to get firm about that.

[–] insaneinthemembrane@lemmy.world 1 points 1 hour ago

All of my community groups are on there, including the school parents one. My choice is to not participate in the community or have Whatsapp... Or worse, Facebook.

[–] linux2647@lemmy.sdf.org 20 points 4 hours ago (1 children)

It’s like the de facto messaging app for a good portion of the world

[–] oppy1984@lemm.ee 4 points 4 hours ago

I have a buddy in Japan who was a foreign exchange student here in the U.S. years ago. When he went back home I had to use Line to talk to him, I tried for years to get him to use Signal and after years of nagging he agreed to start using Discord..... well at least it's not Whatsapp.....

[–] tzrlk@lemmy.world 4 points 3 hours ago (1 children)

It's really big in Europe for some reason.

[–] Ronno@feddit.nl 5 points 3 hours ago

One of the first movers, so many chat groups are still on there and it's very difficult to make people move. Many people simply don't care about privacy, ads, user experience and what not, they just want the convenience of staying in the chat groups they are already in. A shame really.

[–] imetators@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 3 hours ago

I had to do it because many use it and I was not. If you want to communicate in certain parts of the world, this is the only way. I wish everyone would go to Signal or Telegram but everyone are not me.

[–] aceshigh@lemmy.world 3 points 4 hours ago

Some of us don’t have another choice. All (but 1) of my support groups are on WhatsApp and only 1 is on signal.

[–] zebidiah@lemmy.ca 19 points 9 hours ago

I literally just got my senior citizen dad off Skype and over to WhatsApp like 2 years ago... Ain't no way I can get him over to signal

[–] mazzilius_marsti@lemmy.world 2 points 5 hours ago

These ads on messaging services are out of control

so...... back to owl mail then?

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