Bad news, WhatsApp users: Facebook to show ads on the messaging app

Ads on WhatsApp will be visible in the ‘Stories’ section. Instagram already shows ads in Stories, with Facebook and Messenger confirmed to follow suit.

WhatsApp users could soon start seeing ads in Stories. (Bloomberg)

Facebook will reportedly start showing ads on WhatsApp. Ads on WhatsApp will be shown in the 'Stories' section, and an update for iOS is already in the works.

WhatsApp co-founder Brian Acton said that Facebook already had plans for running ads on the messaging app, TheNextWeb reports. Acton who recently revealed why he left the company cited disagreements with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg over monetising WhatsApp.

Facebook is said to show ads in the 'Stories' section. WhatsApp users can upload photos and videos as Stories which disappear after 24 hours. Instagram, which is also owned by Facebook already, shows ads in Stories. The company has also announced that it will start showing ads on Facebook Stories which will appear on Messenger as well. Stories on Facebook and Messenger are cross-posted.

With Instagram, Messenger and Facebook, now only WhatsApp is left without any ads. WhatsApp has for years remained independent of the parent company's marketing tactics. It also has a blog post titled "Why we don't sell ads" where it proudly explains its reasons behind not running ads on WhatsApp. Things might soon change majorly for the messaging app.

A partial change took place this year with Facebook monetising WhatsApp this year through its business app. WhatsApp now charges businesses for select features on the WhatsApp Business app. It also allows businesses to run ads on this platform.

WhatsApp also has its UPI-based payment method integrated in the app. WhatsApp Payments is currently in beta mode but it already has one million users testing it. With Facebook's deeper role in WhatsApp, the messaging app may not remain exclusive any more.