Last year, WhatsApp released a lot of nifty features for its user base. And it looks like the platform is thinking about following the same trend in 2020 as well. Facebook’s main aim with these updates is to upgrade the user experience with each iteration of the app. One of these nifty features is going to be Status Ads, and this isn’t the first time WhatsApp has talked about this future.
In 2019, Facebook revealed that they will soon be introducing the status ads feature for WhatsApp next year, at Facebook Marketing Commit. The social giant mentioned that the user will soon be able to see ads in WhatsApp which will also show the name of the advertiser that’s showing the ad. But users won’t be able to see the profile picture of the advertiser on their contact page. The user will be able to visit the ad content simply swiping up. Sounds familiar? Because it is, these ads will work the same way Instagram stories work.
Thought the platform hasn’t revealed when they will release this feature to the public worldwide but since they are already working on this feature for some time, we can assume that it’s going to be released pretty soon. Status Ads feature will be available for both platforms, Android and IOS.
How Will These Status Ads Work?
WhatsApp status that was introduced a few years ago has evolved a lot. Currently, the WhatsApp status shows videos, images, text and other types of multimedia files that the user chose to upload. WhatsApp ads will work the same way, the ads will be suggested to users based on their interest and behaviour.
The WhatsApp status will show the name of the advertiser with the ad they are promoting. But the important thing to notice here is the users will only see a glimpse of the app and in order to see the complete ad, they’ll need to swipe up.
Just a few months ago WABetaInfo conducted a poll on Twitter asking users whether they are happy regarding the introduction of Status Ads. Majority of the users were not happy at all with WhatsApp’s decision. Some even went on to say they might delete WhatsApp if ads will come into play.
What do you think? Do you like this change that Facebook is thinking about bringing into an app that’s meant to be secure & protected from any prying eyes? Only time will tell how this feature pans out. Let us know your thoughts in the comment section.
