WhatsApp head denies report that messaging app is exploring ads
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The Head of WhatsApp Will Cathcart denied a report from Financial Times that said that the Meta Platforms' (NASDAQ:META) unit was exploring advertisements as it sought to boost revenue.
"This @FT story is false. We aren't doing this," said Cathcart in a social media post on X.
The Financial Times report, citing certain people with knowledge of the matter, said that teams at Meta have been discussing whether to show ads in WhatsApp for the first time. The discussions explored displaying ads in lists of conversations with contacts on the WhatsApp chat screen.
Meta was also thinking whether to charge a subscription fee to use the messaging platform ad-free but many insiders are against the move, as per the FT report.
The Financial Times noted that ahead of the story's original publication a WhatsApp spokesperson did not deny that the idea had been discussed.
"We canât account for every conversation someone had in our company but we are not testing this, working on it and itâs not our plan at all," WhatsApp said, according to the FT report.
Facebook acquired WhatsApp, which has always been a free chat app, in 2014 for $19B.

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