The ads use the same targeting

The ads use the same targeting

All these ads are fine, relatively speaking, because they have context. They’re actually related to what I’m looking for or interested in, and no creepy tracking required! (Though it’s probably happening anyway.) Messenger’s ads have no context. They’re big banner ads that show up regardless of what you opened the app to do — and anyway, what advertisement could possibly make sense for the “asking a friend what they’re up to” use case? There isn’t one hong kong corporate formation!

as other Facebook ads — no snooping in your messaging content yet. So if you’ve liked a bunch of retailer pages, you’ll probably see those, along with stuff in the same categories. That’s something, I guess, but who’s going to suddenly decide to browse men’s shoes at Timberland instead of responding to a message, which they opened the app to do? Messenger isn’t really a “free time” experience the way Facebook proper is — you use the former with purpose, the latter idly. Advertisements must cater to that, just like anywhere else in the world: you don’t see the same ads on subway walls (where you have to sit and stare) as on billboards (where you have two or three seconds max and your attention is elsewhere) EndPoint Backup.

Destroy them and/or let them destroy themselves Facebook survives on advertising revenue, but it is also responsive to stuff that isn’t working. These ads are in testing, though public announcements like this usually mean they’re pretty far along — not some random lark the company may or may not follow through on. I mean, ads are a guarantee at this point, and you can’t escape: But if you don’t want enormous, intrusive ads prominently featured in your Messenger app, don’t touch them. Use the little dot menu at the upper right to hide ads.

And don’t encourage them by selecting “This ad is useful.” Who does that?! Advertising is how things get paid for on the internet, including TechCrunch, so I’m not an advocate of eliminating it or blocking it altogether. But bad advertising experiences can spoil a perfectly good app like (for the purposes of argument) Messenger. Messaging is a personal, purposeful use case and these ads are a bad way to monetize it entrance mat.