WhatsApp tests out verified business accounts
WhatsApp, the Facebook-owned messaging platform, has started a pilot program for verified business accounts.
If users are communicating with a verified business account, they'll see a green badge next to the contact's name, WhatsApp explained on its FAQ page. The messaging service will also use yellow messages to let a user know when they've started talking to a business.
If a user already has a business's phone number saved, they'll see whatever name they've saved in their address book when chatting with the business. Otherwise, they'll see the name the business has chosen for themselves. Users do have the option of blocking businesses.
Just a small number of businesses are participating in the pilot program so far, WhatsApp said.
While WhatsApp has 1 billion daily active users, Facebook is still working to "build a business ecosystem" on the messaging platform, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said last month during the company's Q2 earnings conference call.
Facebook is looking to keep growing its newer revenue streams from platforms like WhatsApp, Messenger, and Instagram. However, it's "still early on the monetization side" for WhatsApp, Zuckerberg said. Facebook CFO David Wehner added that in terms of monetization, "we're further along with Messenger than we are with WhatsApp."
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