WhatsApp to show to you ads in 'WhatsApp Status' soon; officials confirm

                  Facebook owned WhatsApp might start showing advertisements in its ‘Status’ feature in coming months. The popular messaging platform has already started allowing companies to contact you via the service directly, as reported by The Wall Street Journal.

According to the report, WhatsApp officials have confirmed that the company will introduce ads in its ‘Status’ feature starting next year. It will allow companies to text users directly via WhatsApp for any customer-service queries instead of calling. WhatsApp has already started doing this with some companies and with this it is looking for revenue generation as the service will be on chargeable basis. The companies opting for the service will be charged half a penny and 9 cents for every message delivered to the customer depending on the country/ region.

“The company will introduce new ad types to let users know they can text companies directly via WhatsApp for any customer-service queries instead of calling. WhatsApp will charge companies between a half a penny and 9 cents – depending on the country – for every message delivered to a potential customer,” WhatsApp official told WSJ (via 9to5mac).

WhatsApp official also added that about 100 companies have been testing the feature already. The list include some popular names like Uber, Singapore Airlines, and e-commerce company Wish. Although, the messages from these businesses will be offered in an opt-in basis, so if you do not like them to be contacting you, there will be an option to opt-out.

“About 100 companies have been testing the feature, including Singapore Airlines, e-commerce company Wish and ride-sharing company Uber,” added WhatsApp official.

This new ad preview in ‘Status’ feature is nothing new, Facebook has been doing it already with its image-sharing platform Instagram. Instagram currently shows ads in its ‘Stories’. Since WhatsApp is also owned by Facebook, these ads will be also be powered by Facebook’s native advertising system.