Prepare to have more advertisements shown to you as Discord will be the next platform to introduce sponsored ads to its software.
According to a report from The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) (subscription needed), the chat app will be adding them to attempt to increase its revenue.
To assist with the ads, the company plans to add “more than a dozen people for ad-sales positions”, the report states. This effort comes after the company’s revenue has increased to $600 million on an annualized basis, per the WSJ. That amount is “quadruple from what it made in 2020”.
These new ads will be targeted to a user based on their geographic location, age, and gameplay. They will then appear in the bottom left corner of your screen as you use the app.
Discord will allegedly allow users to turn off the ads in their settings.
In the past, Discord’s CEO Jason Citron has been against using sponsored ads on the platform. In a past interview with NPR, he said that a reason for that is people should be “comfortable and safe” when using its service.
“We believe that people’s data is their data and that people should feel comfortable and safe to have conversations and that their data is not going to be used against them in any way that is is improper,” he said back in 2021. “We take privacy very seriously. We do not scan peoples’ messages. We do not read them.”
Discord has yet to publicly announce the addition of these new types of ads. Insider Gaming has reached out to the company for comment on the report, and will update this story should a response be received.
In January, Discord laid off 17% of its workforce, or 170 people.
What do you think of Discord adding sponsored ads to the platform after past claims of being against it? For more Insider Gaming, read about Palworld’s player base and why you shouldn’t worry about it falling.
