Quote:Facebook has reportedly abandoned the plan to bring ads to WhatsApp, but the company is still looking into ways to make money with what’s currently the number one mobile messaging platform on both Android and iOS.
 
A report from The Wall Street Journal reveals that Facebook disbanded the team responsible for the integration of ads in WhatsApp and the existing code paving the road for such a “feature” has already been removed from the app.
 
While an official reason for this shift in strategy hasn’t been provided, there’s a chance that the public backlash against ads in WhatsApp convinced Facebook it’s better to look for other ways of monetizing the messaging platform.
 
For example, it’s believed that while Facebook gave up on the idea of bringing ads to WhatsApp, the social network still wants to put a banner in the Status section of the app. This plan has been on the table since at least late 2018, albeit for the time being it seems to be part of a long-term business strategy that Facebook isn’t ready to fully embrace at this point.
 
At the same time, Facebook is exploring the business side of WhatsApp in an attempt to boost its revenues. No specifics are available at this point, but the social network is likely to release more features to connect businesses and clients.