Alice Newton-Rex, Vice President and Head of Product at WhatsApp.
Many reports in the past have suggested that WhatsApp Advertisements may eventually be introduced to the platform via status updates. So when we met WhatsApp’s product manager at an event in Delhi, we asked her the same question. “We’ve made sure that updates are in a separate space, and potentially that would be something interesting for users to find new businesses.” Alice Newton-Rex, Vice President and Head of Product at WhatsApp, exclusively told Times Now Tech.
He added that WhatsApp had previously discussed the potential of ads in WhatsApp status But the idea was not implemented. Even if ads do come to the platform in the future, they will remain separate from chats and will not affect the entire messaging experience, he said.
WhatsApp recently hosted its ‘Privacy Showcase’ event in New Delhi to talk about the messaging app’s products and privacy values. Alice touched on various topics related to WhatsApp’s features, privacy, and the company’s efforts to improve user experience, emphasizing that privacy and trustworthiness are central to the creation of WhatsApp.
Explaining how WhatsApp makes money, he said: Times Now Technology that there are two or three different ways.
“The first is through what happens outside the platform. It’s like Instagram. For example, users end up having a conversation with a business on WhatsApp and that’s been very popular, particularly in India where a lot of small businesses don’t have another online presence. They don’t have a website to direct users to, so they just have a conversation on WhatsApp,” he said.
The other main way WhatsApp makes money today is through commercial messaging, Alice said.
“A good example would be an airline that sends you your boarding pass. I actually used Indigo’s WhatsApp integration to book a flight. We went to Varanasi and checked the status. Then, we get paid for sending those messages. These are two very successful lines of business and it’s definitely where we will continue to focus,” he explained.
The WhatsApp Product Manager also highlighted that this space is completely separate from where users receive their chats and personal messages in their chat inbox.
Alice also highlighted that WhatsApp creates features based on user feedback. For example, businesses were already using WhatsApp before official support was introduced, leading to the creation of the WhatsApp Business app and platform.
He also mentioned WhatsApp’s efforts to improve features, such as the chat blocking feature, and how users are excited about the new options.
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