WhatsApp is reportedly working to monetise its 1.3 billion users around the globe by introducing advertisements in Status from next year. The company is also reported to soon roll out picture-in-picture mode for its Android users. Further, the brand has introduced some new features in WhatsApp Business.
According to a report by the Wall Street Journal, Facebook is planning to finally monetise WhatsApp with the company’s own advertising system. The ads will be shown in a similar fashion as we have seen on Instagram. The report further highlights that companies might keep copies of the exchange messages in a decrypted state.
Meanwhile, WhatsApp has introduced a new set of features of WhatsApp Business app. The company has unveiled a new API that will make it mandatory for companies to reply to customers queries within 24 hours. However, if the firms reply to the customers after the said time, the company will charge a fixed rate per messages. The new update will also allow companies to send shipping confirmation or boarding pass to users.
Users might see a click-to-chat button on website or Facebook to message a business. Further, some business might also provide real-time support on WhatsApp to answers certain queries about their products or help resolve an issue.
“With this approach, you will continue to have full control over the messages you receive. Businesses will pay to send certain messages so they are selective and your chats don’t get cluttered. In addition, messages will remain end-to-end encrypted and you can block any business with the tap of a button,” the company said in a blog post.
Moving on, WhatsApp is also working to bring picture-in-picture mode pretty soon. The new feature has been spotted in the beta version of Android. The feature is already present in iOS. With this, users will be able to view YouTube and Instagram videos right in the application, reports WABetaInfo. This means that you can continue to navigate in the chat while watching the video.