this post was submitted on 16 Jun 2025
798 points (100.0% liked)

Technology

71537 readers
4232 users here now

This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.

Our Rules

  1. Follow the lemmy.world rules.
  2. Only tech related news or articles.
  3. Be excellent to each other!
  4. Mod approved content bots can post up to 10 articles per day.
  5. Threads asking for personal tech support may be deleted.
  6. Politics threads may be removed.
  7. No memes allowed as posts, OK to post as comments.
  8. Only approved bots from the list below, this includes using AI responses and summaries. To ask if your bot can be added please contact a mod.
  9. Check for duplicates before posting, duplicates may be removed
  10. Accounts 7 days and younger will have their posts automatically removed.

Approved Bots

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
798
WhatsApp is officially getting ads (www.theverge.com)
submitted 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
215 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

WhatsApp is rolling out ads. In an update on Monday, Meta announced that it will now show ads from businesses through its Stories-like status feature.

Meta says it will tailor the ads to your interests by using “limited” information, including your country or city, language, the channels you follow, and how you interact with ads on the platform. You can also change your ad preferences from Meta’s Accounts Center.

This isn’t the only change Meta is making to WhatsApp. The company will also start showing promoted channels when you click on the Explore button to find new ones to follow. It’s also rolling out the ability to subscribe to channels to “receive exclusive updates” as well.

(page 2) 50 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] [email protected] 52 points 20 hours ago (8 children)

  • provide free app at a loss

  • grow massive user base and market share

  • squeeze your userbase for every cent they're worth

Every single time. We got to solve the funding issue some how, I dont want to live in a future run by ads.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 16 hours ago* (last edited 16 hours ago)

It's not very easy to solve the issue of infinite growth in a world with finite resources. The fundamental issue is that it's just not physically possible, but they keep trying. Either we continue this cycle and eventually destroy the planet irreversibly, or we acknowledge that maybe money isn't everything, and that maybe [the vast majority of] people aren't inherently egoitistical monsters, and we move on to different systems.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 19 hours ago (2 children)

WhatsApp was not free and already had a massive user base before Facebook bought it.

Hope this will turn people to alternatives.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 16 hours ago (1 children)

Wasn’t it like a quid to sign up?

[–] [email protected] 5 points 15 hours ago

Yeah it was something like that, very low price compared to what SMS were charged for.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] [email protected] 5 points 16 hours ago

@Auth
So that's why we donate to @signalapp
@MazonnaCara89

[–] [email protected] 5 points 16 hours ago

The enshittification process in a nutshell.

load more comments (4 replies)
[–] [email protected] 20 points 19 hours ago

This is such great news! More ammo to use when trying to convince friends and family to move away from WhatsApp

[–] [email protected] 9 points 17 hours ago (5 children)

delta.chat

The enshittify proof alternative!

[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 hours ago

... So encrypted email?

[–] [email protected] 5 points 15 hours ago

...Electron inside.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 17 hours ago (1 children)

Would signal also work?

load more comments (1 replies)
load more comments (2 replies)
[–] [email protected] 14 points 20 hours ago* (last edited 20 hours ago) (1 children)

I hope Signal does this too!

- no one ever.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 10 hours ago

I just love ads! Especially when they get in the way of what I'm trying to do!!

[–] [email protected] 109 points 1 day ago (6 children)

"We will never show you ads in WhatsApp. We promise". --Facebook when they bought WhatsApp and promised the previous owner not to force ads in the app...

load more comments (5 replies)
[–] [email protected] 7 points 18 hours ago* (last edited 17 hours ago) (11 children)

Do you have WhatsApp?

No Telegram?

I dont have that one, none of the clients seem to work on my phone... Wechat?

Cant verify, SMS doesnt get through. LINE?

lol I dont have a japanese number. Kakaotalk?

No... ...discord?

Sure!

Shit he's 30 seconds from finding out Im a furry.

load more comments (11 replies)
[–] [email protected] 17 points 22 hours ago (5 children)

I forgot WhatsApp existed.

Guess its shittier now.

Mhm. Yup.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 10 hours ago

Tell me you're not well traveled without saying you're not well traveled

[–] [email protected] 22 points 21 hours ago

It's the go-to messagging app in my country for historical reasons.

load more comments (3 replies)
load more comments
view more: ‹ prev next ›