The estimated reading time for this post is 2 minutes
If you use Facebook Messenger, your message inbox may look a bit different soon. On Monday Facebook started to insert auto-play video ads into Messenger for some users.
The video ads will appear in your Messenger inbox between the messages and will start playing as you scroll through your messages. Facebook is rolling out this change slowly and in the beginning only a small group of people who use Messenger will see the video ads.
Quartz first reported on this change to Facebook Messenger earlier this week. According to a statement provided to Quartz, Facebook stated: “We will be rolling out video ads gradually and thoughtfully. People that use Messenger each month are our top priority and they will remain in control of their experience.” See, Quartz Your Messenger experience might soon get much more annoying
How much control will you have over the video ads you see in Messenger? Not complete control. As with the ads you see in your Facebook News Feed, you can tap the three dots above the video ad to control what you see. Facebook lets you choose from the following options:
- Hiding that particular ad
- Reporting the ad as offensive or inappropriate
- Why am I seeing this? to adjust your ad preferences.
=> Note that because the video ads will auto-play, these ads will be using up your monthly data allotment, if you are on a mobile device and not connected to a Wi-Fi network. Be sure to press Pause to stop these ads from playing if you are on a limited data plan or traveling internationally while using data. <=
Facebook seems unsure about users’ reactions to seeing video ads in Messenger. Recode reached out to Facebook for comment and received a statement from Stefanos Loukakos, head of Facebook Messenger advertising: “Top priority for us is user experience. So we don’t know yet [if these will work]. However, signs until now, when we tested basic ads, didn’t show any changes with how people used the platform or how many messages they send.”
“Video might be a bit different, but we don’t believe so.” Learn more at Recode, Now Facebook is putting autoplay video ads inside Messenger
Facebook first started inserting ads into Messenger in July of 2017. Earlier this year, Facebook also began to show short ads at the beginning of videos people post on their accounts, similar to advertisements on YouTube videos.
Poll
Will seeing auto-play video ads among messages in Facebook Messenger bother you? Will you be less likely to use Facebook Messenger because of these video ads?
Vote in today’s Wonder of Tech poll to share your opinion on Facebook Messenger video ads:
Your Thoughts
What do you think of auto-play video ads appearing in Facebook Messenger? Would they make you less likely to use Facebook Messenger and more likely to switch to a different messaging service? Would you be more or less likely to use a product or service because it had a video ad in Facebook Messenger?
Share your thoughts in the Comments section below!
___________
*Phone image (edited) courtesy of Kārlis Dambrāns via Flickr and Creative Commons
**Facebook Messenger app image courtesy of Christoph Scholz via Flickr and Creative Commons
I don’t think where it will end. Usually, I think the messenger is the waste of time. If facebook roll out the ads in between the message then it will be hard to concentrate on messages from our friends and family. I think messenger should be clean as like as WhatsApp. So that everyone will use without any interference.
Anyway thanks for the nice article CAROLYN NICANDER MOHR
Hello Gunaseelan, Excellent points. Auto-play video ads could become very distracting, perhaps making you miss important messages from friends and family. With so many other messaging apps available to people, Facebook Messenger may be helping its competition with this move.
Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts with us, Gunaseelan.
Hii
Carolyn,
I am a big fan of FB messenger and it is one of the most popular messaging apps. I think the auto-play video Ads feature will annoy the FB messenger users.
Thanks
Praveen Verma
Hi Praveen, It looks like you’re correct. From the reaction of commenters here and on social media, this change to Facebook Messenger is not being warmly received. I wonder how much people will have to protest to get the attention of Facebook.
Hii Carolyn,
This is really amazing news for a user like me. Thanks for sharing such wonderful information.
Thanks
Ritu Sharma
Hi Ritu, Well, it’s good to hear from someone who is in favor of auto-play video ads appearing in Messenger. I hope you enjoy the videos you see, Ritu.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us.
You are right. I suffer a little bit. Thanks for sharing.
Hi Mamun, You’re welcome. Good point, not all tech news is welcome and the reaction against Facebook Messenger auto-play video ads seems pretty strong. If Facebook faces a strong reaction once these ads show on all users’ accounts, it may want to reconsider this decision.
The choice to play viseo’s automatically should be up to me. I already have this feature switched OFF in my settings, so why would I like anyone to override my choice. You will offend thousands of customers including me!!!
Hi Dennis, I completely understand your frustration with Facebook. Advertising is one thing, but auto-play videos can be much more intrusive than regular advertising. It will be interesting to see whether this news drives people away from using Facebook Messenger.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us, Dennis.