- Redes.Facebook waives WhatsApp to have ads (except in the states)
- Messaging.WhatsApp already has 2 billion users
- Bulos.WhatsApp does not share your conversations with Newtral or Maldita: this is how the forwarding limit works
Although many do not remember it, WhatsApp was not always a free application. Initially, the program cost one euro on iOS and, although the download was free on Android, it was a 365-day trial version that cost one euro a year after that period. With the passage of time, this cost was eliminated and since then - if we exclude the business version - Facebook has not monetized a tool for which it paid $ 19 billion and which already has 2 billion users. The company is aware of the opportunity and will end up including advertising, but first it must tie several ends and, above all, decide how it will do it.
Everything points to the fact that when the announcements arrive on WhatsApp they will not be seen between the conversations, but will appear in the states. These posts mimic the Instagram stories (which, in turn, were inspired by Snapchat) and ads appear between posts on the other social network of the social network.
However, there are several problems that cause the company to delay its plans. According to The Information, one of the main ones is the possibility of drawing the attention of antitrust agencies (which, on the other hand, are already quite attentive to what the company does). The advertising will come when Facebook finishes unifying its messaging services and this process will be like bringing the unique ring to Mordor: long, complex and nothing guarantees that it ends well .
Another challenge Mark Zuckerberg will face - and in this case it won't help if the legal team meets in Elrond's yard - is getting users to accept these ads. The company could relate the phone numbers associated with WhatsApp with the Facebook account and all the browsing data and likes associated with that person .
The opportunity in this case is enormous, but also the possibility of rejection: they would have to explain to 2,000 million people who know their tastes, but not because they have been spying on the conversation they have had with their partner or with their friends at school, but because they have been providing them for years while surfing the Internet.
An example of how much people value privacy -at least, in this sense- is the recent hoax that WhatsApp censored messages and did not allow them to be forwarded if they were critical of the government.
WhatsApp encrypts the messages, so, even if they were intercepted, it would be impossible to read them and the company itself cannot access that information. In this case, the forwarding was only limited to more than one account at a time if it detected that a message had been very viral, regardless of its content - which was unknown - and whether it was a criticism, a video meme or a gif good morning.
Thus, although the plan is on the table, according to the publication of The Information, there are several managers who oppose it. In his opinion - a priori, correct - there would be many users who would decide to delete their Facebook account or switch to a different messaging application if they believe that the one they use reads their messages and takes advantage of it to place advertising between state and state. But, of course, if by then there is no other messaging application capable of competing with the Facebook ecosystem, the plan improves.
According to the criteria of The Trust Project
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