WhatsApp, like many messaging apps, is free for users, but it still needs to make money to cover its costs.
While I spent hours chatting on WhatsApp without paying anything, the service relies on its parent company, Meta, to support its operations.
With nearly three billion users, WhatsApp generates income mainly from businesses that want to reach customers like me.
Since last year, businesses have been allowed to create free channels on WhatsApp to send messages to subscribers.
However, they pay for more direct communication with individual customers. For example, in Bangalore, India, people can buy bus tickets and choose seats through WhatsApp.
This capability allows businesses to handle various transactions without users leaving their chat thread. Nikila Srinivasan, a Meta executive, explained that their goal is for businesses and customers to manage everything within a chat, making it easy and convenient.
Additionally, companies can pay for a special link that connects their online ads on Facebook or Instagram directly to WhatsApp chats, which has become a significant revenue source for Meta, worth billions of dollars.
Other messaging platforms have different ways to earn money. Signal focuses on security and runs on donations, while Discord offers free use with extra paid features.
Snapchat relies on ads and has millions of paying subscribers. Some messaging apps, like Element, charge large organizations for secure messaging.
The common theme among these platforms is that if users aren’t paying, their data might be sold to advertisers.
Matthew Hodgson, a co-founder of a messaging firm, pointed out that many apps use user behavior to target ads, even if the messages are encrypted.
This leads to the old saying: if you’re not paying for the service, you might be the product being sold to advertisers【BBC】.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c8j7nrppny2o