The executive in charge of WhatsApp has refuted a Financial Times report that said the messaging service was looking at advertising as a way to increase income. WhatsApp is owned by Meta Platforms (META.O).
"This @FT report is untrue. Will Cathcart, the head of WhatsApp, stated this in a post on the social networking site X, formerly known as Twitter.
According to the report, teams at Meta were debating whether to display advertising in contact list chats on the WhatsApp chat screen, but no decisions had been taken as of yet, according to sources familiar with the situation.
According to the FT, Meta was also considering whether to charge a membership fee for ad-free access to the app.
WhatsApp stated to the Financial Times in a statement that "we can't account for every conversation someone had within our company, but we are not testing this, we are working on it, and it's not our plan at all."
According to the FT, many corporate executives were opposed to the change.
A request for comment from Reuters was not immediately answered by Meta.