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WhatsApp introduces ads in its app

(www.nytimes.com)
713 points greenburger | 2 comments | 16 Jun 25 13:38 UTC | HN request time: 0.556s | source
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leokennis ◴[16 Jun 25 14:05 UTC] No.44289612[source]▶
At least in The Netherlands, WhatsApp could show a 60 second unskippable modal ad video on every launch, and still get away with it due to network effects.

If you’re not on WhatsApp, no updates or news from your kids school, your sports team, your family, your car dealership etc. for you.

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1. signal11 ◴[17 Jun 25 06:19 UTC] No.44296190[source]▶
Apps are popular until they aren’t. Yahoo Messenger, MSN Messenger and Skype were all popular once.

Ads are one thing, but now WhatsApp is letting businesses message you in Europe, only with opt out. This is pretty frustrating. I suspect some users will seek alternatives.

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2. ReptileMan ◴[17 Jun 25 07:39 UTC] No.44296604[source]▶
>. Yahoo Messenger, MSN Messenger and Skype were all popular once.

Credit where credit is due, Microsoft needed more than a decade to kill skype. It was so resilient and entrenched.