WhatsApp users to get non-spammy ads via Facebook

Facebook paid $19bn for WhatsApp in February 2014, citing its success in “engaging” users and suggesting it was “on a path to connect 1 billion people” (at the time it had 420m users and was adding 1m a day). The pair went as far as quoting Tyler Durden, from the film “Fight Club”: “Advertising has us chasing cars and clothes, working jobs we hate so we can buy sh*t we don’t need'”.

“Nothing you share on WhatsApp, including your messages, photos, and account information, will be shared onto Facebook or any of our other family of apps for others to see, and nothing you post on those apps will be shared on WhatsApp for others to see”, the updated terms stated.

WhatsApp, which has more than one billion users, said on Thursday it would start sharing users’ phone numbers with Facebook, allowing for more relevant advertisements and friend recommendations on the social media network.

One changes announced by the company follows through on previous hints by WhatsApp executives, who have said they’re exploring ways for businesses to communicate with customers on WhatsApp. However, WhatsApp said it’s rolling out those changes in a way that doesn’t expose users to third-party banner ads and spam.

The Information Commission’s Office (ICO), which is Britain’s own data privacy regulator, in an announcement made on Friday, expressed their intent to act as a watchdog over the newly implemented privacy policy change of WhatsApp.

Facebook does want WhatsApp to be used to deliver ads, however it doesn’t want to do so in a spammy way.

The ads would come through a Facebook program called “Custom Audiences”, which lets a business upload lists of customers and phone numbers or other contact information the business has collected from warranty cards or other sources. “We do not want you to have a spammy experience; as with all of your messages, you can manage these communications, and we will honor the choices you make”. But existing users have only 30 days to opt out.

Privacy groups have praised WhatsApp for building powerful encryption into its services, making it impossible for the company or anyone else to read users’ messages. Previously, the company announced that messages in the WhatsApp application are end-to-end encrypted and yes, they remain true to that commitment.