Link to source – Reddit
Just saw a post on Twitter spotting this, and it looks like Meta is finally making their move to fully monetize WhatsApp. They grabbed screenshots of video ads showing up directly in the Status/Updates tab feed (you can see them above).
On top of this, there are reports that Meta is simultaneously beta-testing a paid "WhatsApp Plus" subscription. It reportedly costs around $2.99/mo and unlocks custom themes, exclusive UI colors, and advanced inbox features like pinning up to 20 chats.
For an app that built its massive user base on the original promise of "No Ads, No Games, No Gimmicks," this feels like a huge pivot.
What do you guys think?
Would you ever actually pay a monthly sub for a premium WhatsApp? Or is this the kind of move that pushes people to other apps?
Is the ad-free era of WhatsApp coming to an end ?
byu/Wikileaks_2412 instocks
Posted by Wikileaks_2412
5 Comments
Id pay $10 bucks to see the online status of those who’ve restricted it.
From what I’ve read before they are planning to start an Instagram like social feed aspect to WhatsApp where ads will be.
If they put ads in core chat experience, it will be end of WhatsApp. I personally would switch everyone I talk with routinely to Signal at that moment.
We already have Signal accounts because some of our friends already did switch.
Every single person I know uses Whatsapp for family / friends, or in rare cases work colleagues groups.
It feels like a personal app, so if they decide to go this way, no one will ever keep using this app, especially that it has competitors that do same thing (Telegram, Signal, Viber…etc)
The problem here is that Whatsapp is only “inbox” even in groups/communitys there is no way to put an ad there, either they are going to be extremely smart on how to do it, or they will destroy their business
The end of an ad-free era will be a Whatsapp-free era