LONDON, UK — WhatsApp don finally decide say dem go start show ads for di app. Meta, di owner of WhatsApp, don announce dis new move wey go dey happen inside di Updates section of di app, where about 1.5 billion users dey waka pass everyday. But no worry, your secret chats no go dey affected! Dem go separate ads from your personal messages, so no one go turn your love messages to advertisement platform (imagine person dey see ads while you dey sweet talk your padi).
Di new features go still fit show ads based on di country, city, and language wey you dey use, plus how you dey interact with other ads. If you don link your WhatsApp to Facebook or Instagram, na you go sabi see more personalised ads (abi dem wan make your life sweet with adverts?). Meta say e no go use your private messages to decide di ads wey you go see. So, your secret diary no go fall into di hands of marketers, no vex!
Now, for di Updates tab, businesses go fit promote themselves directly. E go be like magic, cos dem fit also charge subscription fees to make extra content available. Na dem go carry 10% commission from di fees wey dem collect. So, if na small business you dey run, wetin you dey wait for?
WhatsApp boss, Will Cathcart, talk say dis move na natural extension of di messaging services. Dem dey try follow di same pattern wey plenty other apps don use, like di way Instagram dey show ‘stories’. But wetin we fit expect? Nobody wan miss juju-for-gossip for di tech world! Matt Navarra, social media expert, talk say di apps wey dey try monetize demselves suppose balance am, or else una know sey user go begin dey shy away from WhatsApp if e come too noisy. Na serious matter o!
This change dey come as Meta dey look for new way to make money since dem buy WhatsApp for 2014. Di app wey peeps initially think go remain ad-free, don finally join di ad party. Dis whole thing fit shock di founders wey talk say dem no want advertising for di app when dem create am. But as dem say, ‘money no get enemy’ (money dey run some kind wahala for di tech world).
Meta don sabi sey users dey love di personal aspect of WhatsApp too much, so dem ensure sey any kind ad no go disturb your inbox. Instead, di ads go dey chill for di Updates tab, where people sabi go for quick updates. Meta dey very careful to promise di users sey their personal messages remain under lock and key. We dey hope sey dem no go change di matter anytime soon because trust no dey grow on trees o!
As di whole world dey change, WhatsApp dey try to adapt to di new world of social media. E go be like say dem wan turn WhatsApp to a mega platform, wetin go carry everything from shopping to gossiping. If dem fit balance di ads with our privacy, den who no go like am? First wey we sabi say our chats no go turn to marketplace. E go be nice for di user experience if dem fit make am work!
