‘Status Ads’ arrive in WhatsApp beginning in 2020

WhatsApp is adding Status Ads in 2020

WhatsApp has grown increasingly popular over the years. Even being owned by Facebook has not slowed the messaging platform down. Can advertisements shoved into the app change that? We’ll find out beginning in 2020.

During the annual Facebook Marketing Summit in the Netherlands, which took place this week, the social network confirmed that ads are coming to WhatsApp beginning in 2020. No specific date was provided other than the general year, so it may be a ways into next year before these ads show up.

The ads are called “Status Ads”, and they will be part of what WhatsApp calls Statuses. These are the equivalent to the Stories you can find in Instagram. But, unlike some ads in there social networks, these ads will take up the whole screen. You can see it pictured at the top of this article, with the images captured by Olivier Ponteville of the digital marketing company Be Connect. Those images were then shared initially by Matt Navarra on Twitter.

These Status Ads will take up the entirety of your phone’s display, in the same way that a WhatsApp Status would. Instead of seeing a user’s name at the top of the display though, you’ll see the company’s name there at the top as the ad presents itself. If you like what you see and want to learn more about it, you can swipe up for more information.

Technically speaking, the ads coming to WhatsApp aren’t a surprise by themselves. The social messaging service has already confirmed these were coming. But seeing how they will look and work, though, and knowing they arrive in 2020 paints a pretty clear picture.

These ads will be present for iOS and Android WhatsApp users alike when they arrive at some point next year. Based on this slide showing off how these Status Ads will look, what do you think? If you’re a heavy WhatsApp user, will these ads force your usage down a little?