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WhatsApp introduces ads in its app

(www.nytimes.com)
713 points greenburger | 15 comments | 16 Jun 25 13:38 UTC | HN request time: 0.1s | source | bottom
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mrtksn ◴[16 Jun 25 14:07 UTC] No.44289633[source]▶
Does anybody have stats on how many people are O.K. paying for their core services, i.e. how many people pay for paid personal e-mail services?

I just don't want to believe that our services have to be paid for through proxy by giving huge cut to 3rd parties. The quality goes down both as UX and as core content, our attention span is destroyed, our privacy is violated and our political power is being stolen as content gets curated by those who extract money by giving us the "free" services.

It's simply very inefficient. IMHO we should go back to pay for what you use, this can't go on forever. There must be way to turn everything into a paid service where you get what you paid for and have your lives enhanced instead of monetized by proxy.

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Xenoamorphous ◴[16 Jun 25 20:48 UTC] No.44293255[source]▶
I remember when Whatsapp became a paid app, I can’t remember the details as I believe they varied by platform (iOS vs Android) but it was either €0.79 or €0.99, I’m not sure if one off or yearly payment, but it doesn’t matter.

I, as the “computer guy”, had friends and family asking how to pirate it. This is coming from SMS costing €0.25 per message (text only!) and also coming from people who would gladly pay €3 for a Coke at a bar that they’d piss down the toilet an hour later. It didn’t matter if it only took 3 or 4 messages to make Whatsapp pay off for itself, as they were sending dozens if not hundreds of messages per day, either images, videos and whatnot (MMSs were much more expensive).

At that moment I realised many (most?) people would never pay for software. Either because it’s not something physical or because they’re stuck in the pre-Internet (or maybe music) mentality where copying something is not “stealing” as it’s digital data (but they don’t realise running Whatsapp servers, bandwidth etc cost very real money). And I guess this is why some of the biggest digital services are ad-funded.

In contrast, literally never someone has voiced privacy concerns, they simply find ads annoying and they’ve asked for a way to get rid of them (without paying, of course).

I should say, I’m from one of the European countries with the highest levels of piracy.

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socalgal2 ◴[17 Jun 25 00:09 UTC] No.44294513[source]▶
> people would never pay for software.

I see this and not see this.

See this = friend wants to check out app but it costs $1-$3. I'm like, that's less than a coffee or a candy bar that you consume disposably. Why not just try it and if it's sucks throw it away, the same way you might with a new food item? That argument doesn't work on them for some reason.

not see = Steam

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1. Groxx ◴[17 Jun 25 00:51 UTC] No.44294714[source]▶
>Why not just try it and if it's sucks throw it away, the same way you might with a new food item? That argument doesn't work on them for some reason.

Even mediocre food is still functional, and usually still enjoyable.

Quite a lot of paid software does not meet that bar. It's far more likely to both cost you money and waste a few hours (much longer than that food demanded, unless you got food poisoning).

I generally agree it's far out of balance, but I do think it's broadly understandable.

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2. eddythompson80 ◴[17 Jun 25 01:06 UTC] No.44294790[source]▶
> Even mediocre food is still functional, and usually still enjoyable.

That's not even remotely close to being true. Plenty of people would order a $25 dish at a place and not like it. Not finishing the dish, or throwing a way a half eaten candy bar or bad-tasting-$6-cup of coffee is very normal. Plenty of (if most) food is meh or not enjoyable. It just serves a purpose and fills you and you move on.

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3. Groxx ◴[17 Jun 25 01:10 UTC] No.44294809[source]▶
If you're routinely buying and throwing out $25 plates of food, then you're in a different income bracket than many people. And then, yes, avoiding a $3 app is more nonsensical than for most.
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4. eddythompson80 ◴[17 Jun 25 01:43 UTC] No.44294997{3}[source]▶
No one said you’re routinely doing it. It just happens for thing at orders of magnitude higher than what can be asked for software. One bad coffee, or meal or a %20 tip on a $40 order of pizza is far more than the 1.99 or 3.99 software can ask for, and it’s still too much. Tipping $5 or a $10 is not a big deal, but a $1.99 app is like “ooof, is there like a free version?”

It’s not even a blanket statement on software. gamers have shown they are willing to pay, though their money comes with strings attached. Mac users are more willing to pay than Windows users who are more willing to pay than Linux users.

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5. Groxx ◴[17 Jun 25 02:26 UTC] No.44295238{4}[source]▶
Yeah, I'm not claiming nobody pays for software. Clearly many do. Just that I understand people's default aversion - I encounter far more software than food that I would label "shit", despite eating far more food in total.

And software often requires you to enter payment info into who know what system (plus your phone number (plus make an account (plus opt into receiving spam from them until the universe dies))), if you're not using google play / the iOS app store. In a restaurant you put your card into the thing and you're done.

Also this:

>It just serves a purpose and fills you and you move on.

Is something many pieces of software I've used cannot even dream of achieving. They solely wasted my time.

It's why I think it's a shame that demos are a dying breed.

6. rhines ◴[17 Jun 25 03:05 UTC] No.44295392{3}[source]▶
Plenty of university students around me who will order a $8 boba tea and be disappointed that the boba is cooked poorly or the milk ratio isn't good, and then do it again a couple days later.

But the difference is that food elicits cravings - you buy it because you imagine how good it'll be if it's done right this time and your body pressures you to buy it. Apps don't do that.

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7. ensignavenger ◴[17 Jun 25 03:09 UTC] No.44295400[source]▶
I can't speak for others, but it is absolutely true for me. If I spend $1-3 on some item of food and it is so bad I can't or don't want to even eat it- it is pretty bad... and I am incredibly bummed out over it.
8. bryanrasmussen ◴[17 Jun 25 05:03 UTC] No.44295906{4}[source]▶
this probably goes back to the Steam counterexample - Game apps do elicit that craving.
9. throwaway2037 ◴[17 Jun 25 05:44 UTC] No.44296057{4}[source]▶

    > Plenty of university students around me who will order a $8 boba tea
Is this "University of Monaco" (I jest) or UCLA or USC or Harvard or what? What kind of normie uni student is buying 8 USD bubble teas? Ridiculous.
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10. nobody9999 ◴[17 Jun 25 06:17 UTC] No.44296180{5}[source]▶
>What kind of normie uni student is buying 8 USD bubble teas? Ridiculous.

I can't speak to anywhere else, but these[0][1] are near Columbia University and $8 is pretty normal there, AFAICT. Presumably YMMV depending on where you are.

[0] https://order.gongchausa.com/

[1] https://www.trycaviar.com/store/tea-magic-new-york-841338/11...

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11. cout ◴[17 Jun 25 10:27 UTC] No.44297518{4}[source]▶
In my experience, a free and ad-free app is often better, because it was written by someone who doesn't have profit as a motive (often just a hobby). There are tons of great paid apps too, but it's hard to know which paid app is actually good and which is a slipshod app designed to profit from the rare user who will buy an app without much thought.
12. throwaway2037 ◴[18 Jun 25 05:50 UTC] No.44306990{6}[source]▶
Ok, so my joke stands. Columbia University is in Manhattan -- incredibly expensive by any measure.
13. wkat4242 ◴[19 Jun 25 05:24 UTC] No.44315699{6}[source]▶
Even here in Barcelona a bubble tea is about 6 euro. It's not something I'd get every day, but it's a nice thing on a hot day. A treat like an ice cream.

And the purchasing power in America is about 3-4 times as high. Also, you don't really get poor students there. If you're poor in America you just don't get to go to college.

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14. throwaway2037 ◴[20 Jun 25 04:51 UTC] No.44324836{7}[source]▶

    > And the purchasing power in America is about 3-4 times as high.
The median income in Barcelona ~34K EUR per year. The median income in New York City is ~42K USD per year.

    > If you're poor in America you just don't get to go to college.
What? Who told you that? This is untrue. There are lots of grants (free money) and loans available to low income students. Also, the university system in the US is much less rigid than Spain. In the US, many lower income people will first attend community college to get a two years associate's degree. Then, start a job, and attend night school at a university for another 3-4 years to get an undergraduate degree.
15. jama211 ◴[22 Jun 25 19:39 UTC] No.44349680{4}[source]▶
It’s also easier to pay for something that I feel I’m entirely getting as a treat for me. Sure, that snack is $5, but it’s all a “treat”. Software often doesn’t feel like a treat to own, outside of games that is, having to pay for apps you’d just use in every day life feels emotionally more like an annoying tax you have to pay to just continue existing, just like an electricity bill or something. I honestly think that’s the main psychological difference that people aren’t considering or even mentioning.