WhatsApp Denies Plans To Show Advertising, Affirms No Final Decision

WhatsApp denied showing ads. (photo: Twitter @wcathcart)

JAKARTA - WhatsApp's chief executive denied a Financial Times report saying the messaging platform owned by Meta Platforms Inc. is exploring the possibility of displaying ads to increase revenue.

The app is seen by some analysts as an unfinished growth opportunity, even years after Meta bought the platform for $19 billion in 2014, which is its biggest deal to date.

The FT report states that the team on Meta is discussing whether to display ads in the conversation list with contacts on the WhatsApp chat screen, but no final decision has yet been made.

Meta is also considering whether to impose subscription fees to use ad-free apps, the report added, citing sources familiar with the matter.

"This @FT news is not true. We didn't do it," said WhatsApp Head Will Cathcart in a post on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

This @FT story is false. We aren't doing this.Also it looks like you misspelled Brian's name... https://t.co/Z47z9FC5yu

— Will Cathcart (@wcathcart) September 15, 2023

This @FT story is false. We aren't doing this.Also it looks like you misspelled Brian's name... https://t.co/Z47z9FC5yu

WhatsApp has more than 2 billion monthly active users, according to financial data from Visible Alpha, but most of its revenue comes from its platform for small and medium businesses used by about 200 million users every month.

Meta did not provide WhatsApp revenue, but Visible Alpha expects the messaging service to generate $1.06 billion in sales in the last quarter, which is only 3% of the company's total revenue.

Zuckerberg said last year that WhatsApp and Messenger would be driving the company's next sales growth, with a business message "probably going to be Meta's next main pillar".

Every step to include advertisements on WhatsApp may not be popular with users. "Strengthening advertisements in the messaging app can be a money producer, but it will be annoying and awkward," said analyst AJ Bell Danni Hewson.

"The speed with which this news was denied actually shows that Meta is aware of how popular the move will be... it looks like it won't start, at least for now," added Hewson.