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WhatsApp introduces ads in its app

(www.nytimes.com)
713 points greenburger | 4 comments | 16 Jun 25 13:38 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source
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d3vmax ◴[17 Jun 25 06:18 UTC] No.44296182[source]▶
Alice Newton-Rex, head of product at WhatsApp: “Alongside of private messaging, people were saying they wanted to hear more about topics, teams and organizations across WhatsApp.”

- I am pretty sure NO ONE asked to hear about more topics and organizations across whatsapp.

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EbNar ◴[17 Jun 25 08:04 UTC] No.44296745[source]▶
I'd literally PAY for a mod taking away the "updates" tab. I don't care about stories nor I want channels shoved in my face. I just need to message someone, from time to time.
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1. kace91 ◴[17 Jun 25 09:29 UTC] No.44297222[source]▶
Thankfully it’s not intrusive - you can pretty much ignore the bottom menu and have adfree chat, I’ve been doing it for years.

The moment they start placing calls to action and distraction in that view is the moment people will move - telegram is a drop in replacement with more features, I won’t argue it’s the ideal choice but at least it keeps meta on their toes as a potential competitor.

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2. purerandomness ◴[17 Jun 25 10:55 UTC] No.44297648[source]▶
Telegram introduced ads in 2021.
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3. gbalduzzi ◴[17 Jun 25 10:59 UTC] No.44297664[source]▶
Exactly. I just never open that tab
4. kace91 ◴[17 Jun 25 18:16 UTC] No.44302101[source]▶
I know. My point is that they act as a bottom for how much WhatsApp can be enshittified. Once they go below there’s not a lot of friction against switching.