Facebook wants to serve you better, tailor made ads, based on your preferences.
All is good and well, right?
Well, the medium for serving these has changed – It’s Whatsapp(!)
Yes, you heard it right – the messaging platform that claimed to protect your privacy and never let any advertisers approach you on it (and has also decided to serve any sponsored ads anywhere on the platform) has done the unthinkable and will start sharing your details with the Facebook family of companies (Facebook, Instagram, etc).
(This isn’t the first time marketers and salesmen in general were trying to hack through Whatsapp [and other messaging services, for that matter] to get to relevant clients).
Is it something that we actually want, though?
For the advertiser, it’s heaven on earth: Access to over 1 billion users worldwide, can direct text messages both on Whatsapp and via regular text messages (because I have users phone numbers).
Can reach users on Facebook, Instagram and on Whatsapp with possible retargeting techniques that would ensure my message gets through.
Another great feature for the advertiser is that because not every Whatsapp user also uses Facebook or Instagram for that matter, I actually have a new pool of fresh blood to choose from.
The main problem isn’t just serving ads to users, but reading private messages. The whole point of Whatsapp is that you could create your own groups or private chats to stay in touch with friends and family or at max, have one-on-ones with clients or sort of a conference call; all of that is going to change with the new amendments to the T&C and Privacy Policy of Whatsapp.
Yes, they claim they won’t share anything with Facebook or Instagram, so why on earth would they ask you to let them share some information to “make things better” with a 30 day window of opportunity to opt out and then it’s off the table?
We will keep you posted on things to come, especially in the next month or so so stay tuned!