Facebook VP of Monetization Product Matt Idema Is Now WhatsApp’s COO

Idema will bring his focus on monetization to the messaging app

WhatsApp named its first-ever chief operating officer, tapping parent company Facebook’s vice president of monetization product marketing Matt Idema to fill the role.

Facebook confirmed the move, which was initially reported by Kurt Wagner of Recode, but the social network did not provide any further details.

Wagner reported that Idema will bring his focus on monetization to the messaging application and will shift roles “in the coming weeks,” reporting directly to WhatsApp co-founder and CEO Jan Koum.

A spokesperson confirmed to Wagner that monetizing WhatsApp does not include ads, which echoed Koum’s blog post last January, when the messaging app dropped its subscription fees:

Naturally, people might wonder how we plan to keep WhatsApp running without subscription fees and if today’s announcement means we’re introducing third-party ads.

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