The end of an ad-free WhatsApp.

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.

  • Mark@lemmy.worldEnglish
    0·
    2 months ago

    “We will never show you ads in WhatsApp. We promise”. --Facebook when they bought WhatsApp and promised the previous owner not to force ads in the app…

      • Mark@lemmy.worldEnglish
        0·
        2 months ago

        If they did not, they at least ignored that instinct and kept using WhatsApp…

        How do we get people to stop ignoring their better instincts in things like this?

        • InnerScientist@lemmy.worldEnglish
          0·
          2 months ago

          The only way to completely fix it is to make the services be compatible, so that people can switch without the downside of leaving people behind.

          This is complicated and has downsides though.

      • WhatAmLemmy@lemmy.worldEnglish
        0·
        2 months ago

        Have they removed that dogshit crypto they added a few years ago? Haven’t donated since.

        Signal was never more than a stepping stone anyway. Centralised privacy services, that can be taken down by any government, are doomed to fail under surveillance capitalfascism.