WhatsApp’s top executive has refuted a report by the Financial Times suggesting that the messaging platform, owned by Meta Platform, is considering introducing advertisements to boost its revenue. Meta acquired WhatsApp for $19 billion in 2014, and some analysts regard it as an untapped growth opportunity within the Meta portfolio.
According to the FT report, teams at Meta were discussing the possibility of displaying ads within lists of conversations with contacts on the WhatsApp chat screen, but they had not made any definitive decisions. The report also indicated that Meta was contemplating the idea of charging a subscription fee for an ad-free version of the app.
However, WhatsApp’s head, Will Cathcart, responded to the report on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter), stating, “This FT story is false. We aren’t doing this.”
WhatsApp boasts more than 2 billion monthly active users, although a significant portion of its revenue comes from its platform for small and medium-sized businesses, which is utilized by approximately 200 million users each month.
Meta has not disclosed WhatsApp’s revenue figures, but financial data firm Visible Alpha estimated that the messaging service generated $1.06 billion in sales in the last quarter, accounting for just 3% of Meta’s total revenue.
Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, had previously stated that WhatsApp and Messenger would be driving the company’s next wave of sales growth, with business messaging being “probably going to be the next major pillar” for Meta.
Introducing ads on WhatsApp could potentially face resistance from users, as it would represent a significant change to the platform’s ad-free experience.
