The popular messaging service confirms that ads will soon enter the WhatsApp Status feature, classified in the ‘main monetization mode’ and be the way businesses will be able to ‘reach people on WhatsApp’. WhatsApp advertisement will appear in the “Status” section – an analogue of the “Storeys” function on Instagram and Snapchat. Photos, videos and animated GIFs in this section disappear 24 hours after publication. Because Facebook still emphasizes encryption on WhatsApp, these ads will not collect any data from the application directly. However, the ad will be supported by its own Facebook advertising system which shows that social networks can connect telephone numbers registered with Facebook’s profile data to offer targeted advertisements. It is not clear when the ad will be launched to WhatsApp users, but the iOS device will reportedly be the first to receive it, before being rolled over to Android devices. According to the latest Facebook financial report, WhatsApp now has more than 450 million daily active users.
