Facebook Messenger Home Screen Ads Rolling Out Worldwide

Home screen ads in Facebook Messenger, which have been in testing in Australia and Thailand since January, will soon roll out to all users in a beta capacity, Facebook announced in a blog post this morning.

The Facebook Messenger home screen currently displays recent messages from friends, "Shared Days," Favorites, and friends who are currently online. When ads roll out, this screen will also feature tailored advertisements similar to the ads already displayed on Facebook and Instagram.

Today we're pleased to announce the global beta expansion of Messenger ads. People already spend time on Messenger interacting and conducting commerce with businesses and brands they love, and now with Messenger ads, they have an opportunity to discover experiences directly on their home tab.

Home screen ads will join "Click to Messenger" ads that drive customers to Messenger after clicking an ad in Facebook or Instagram, and sponsored messages, designed to let companies to send ads to users after an interaction to "re-engage."

According to Facebook, a "small percentage" of people will begin to see ads on the Messenger home screen towards the end of the month as the company begins to build ad inventory. Facebook says ads will gradually be extended to additional users over the coming months as it learns from the beta experience to ensure it is "continuing to deliver the best experience."

Global ads will be available to a select number of advertisers starting today, and those advertisers can begin to add Messenger to their ad campaigns.

Tags: Facebook, Facebook Messenger

Top Rated Comments

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Cronbo

25 months ago

Time to delete the bloated app

Rating: 14 Votes

iLoveDeveloping

25 months ago

Screw Facebook.

Rating: 7 Votes

WiseAJ

25 months ago

Just what was missing from this app, Yay Ads! Said no one ever. Worst Update Ever.

Rating: 6 Votes

ASUgrad1999

25 months ago

FB was cool back in 2009 but the honeymoon is over. Most have reconnected with everyone they care to by now. Keeping FB at this point for me is just easier than trying to explain to everyone why I'm leaving. Moves like this just make that explanation just that much easier.

Rating: 6 Votes

DBZmusicboy01

25 months ago

BYE BYE FACEBOOK!!!! H to the NO

Rating: 5 Votes

lsutigerfan1976

25 months ago

You had no problem using Facebook for free. Someone’s gotta lay the bills. Too many selfish and self centred people today who think everything should be free.

There is a difference between finding a way to pay bills if you are company. And there is trying to squeeze every cent out of you. Which is what it seems like they try to do. I also think ppl are worried about privacy issues, when a company constantly wants to use your info for one thing or another.

Rating: 5 Votes

jonnysods

25 months ago

December 2015, last time I used Facebook!! Glad I ditched it.

Rating: 5 Votes

jsavvy

25 months ago

Another reason why I use other services.

Rating: 3 Votes

willmtaylor

25 months ago

Wow. Where’s the premium option?

Monetizing your info is more profitable than having a few folks pay for premium.

Don’t forget, YOU are the product being sold.

Rating: 3 Votes

Macaholic868

25 months ago

I’m glad I deleted that app years ago. I think Facebook was stupid for spinning off messaging functionality into a separate app. They did it in a desperate attempt to gain market share over other competing messaging platforms but they went about it in the wrong way.

Spinning off messaging into a separate app did absolutely nothing to improve the experience for end users. In fact it made the experience of using their messaging platform more combersome and convoluted for their users.

Users who previously could use the platform seamlessly within the Facebook app suddenly had to download a different app and could no longer communicate with other users who either couldn’t or wouldn’t install it.

That approach was ass-backwards. They should have kept the messaging platform within the Facebook app to keep the Facebook user experience as integrated and seamless as possible.

They should’ve put out a separate messaging app designed specifically for users who didn’t want the full on Facebook app / website experience. Allow end users to download it and either quickly create a Facebook account if they don’t already have one or sign in using their existing account if they do and they’d be off to the races.

Instead they made the experience worse for both existing users who wanted the full on Facebook app / website experience and for new users who might have only wanted to use it as a messaging platform.

Rating: 3 Votes

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