When Facebook bought Whatsapp for $19 billion there was a lot of rumours on the internet about what would happen as a result of this.  Some thought that it would be a move by Facebook to start pushing ads onto the Whatsapp network while others thought it would be about using people’s data.  With the new changes that are coming in it is now clear that we won’t be seeing ads on Whatsapp.  Instead Facebook will be using data from your Whatsapp account to create more targeted ads on your Facebook news feed.

There are still a few days left to opt-out of allowing Facebook to use your data if you haven’t done so already but here are the ways in which it will affect you whether you opt in or out.

You can learn how to opt-out from these changes here.

How Whatsapp Policy Changes Will Affect You

If you decide to allow your data to be used by Facebook or you simply miss the deadline, here is the most important things that will happen in your Facebook news feed.

You are now going to start seeing ads that are much more targeted to you as an individual based on your age, gender and interests that you talk about with your friends on Whatsapp.  If seeing things that are more relevant to you on your news feed is important to you then this is something to consider.  It will help to bring an end to spammy and irrelevant ads that you see sometimes.  Or at least that is the idea behind it but I wouldn’t be surprised if there were plenty on there still.

If you decide to opt out of allowing Facebook to use your data directly then here is the biggest piece of news for you.  It might not even matter anyway.

That’s right!  You can opt-out and it won’t make the slightest difference to keeping your meta-data secure.  Here is why.

If a single person on your friends list doesn’t opt-out then all of your data may still be accessible by Facebook.  Also if you have linked your mobile number to your Facebook profile then they can simply map that across from Whatsapp to your Facebook profile and use the data anyway.

How Whatsapp Policy Changes Will Affect Your Business

Whilst it still isn’t clear just how much data advertisers will be able to use or access, the idea is that you are going to be able to drive even more targeted ads to your audience.  This is going to reduce your cost per click and increase interactions on your ads, especially when you share quality content.  This can only be a win-win for advertisers.

Facebook are looking at providing customer service functions for brands via Whatsapp.  Rather than the public shaming which happens on people’s Facebook statuses, users will be able to Whatsapp direct to the brand .  This should help increase engagement between brands and users which , when done correctly, will help improve the service that you offer to them.

How would it change your business if a user contacted you this way and you were able to drill down into what they are wanting from you?  Could you create some new products that you hadn’t thought of previously?  Could you add more value to your service or even offer a new service?

With Facebook also looking at providing their own ads network, things are going to become very interesting for businesses that use social media advertising in the coming months.