KakaoTalk messenger has now (since May 2019) started running small advertisement banners inside the chat list.
That is a sample of the first ad I received inside my chat list a few weeks ago.
And here's another example:
Obviously, this is annoying. The ads in the desktop PC version of KakaoTalk were already annoying. The ads inside the additional features / settings page (apparently called "More...") were annoying. And these are annoying.
For me, the main issue isn't even that it is distracting. It's that there is this tiny little lag between the chatrooms list displaying and the ad sliding into it, which of course moves all the chats below the add down a little bit. When I am in a rush and need to get to a chatroom quickly, this little annoyance drives me insane.
I think this guy has a similar feeling:
I'm not alone, because in fact according a ZDNet poll, 45% of people find these ads extremely annoying. 32% find them annoying but not a huge deal. Put be clearly in the 45% group.
In another interesting tidbit from their poll, 63% of people said the most useful extra feature of KakaoTalk is the gift coupon exchanging. I have to agree because that's the only thing other than chatting I use KakaoTalk for.
Apparently some kind of AI system is used to display ads based on user info like your searches and interactions with the "#" feature (which I literally only use to search for meme type images to add inline in a chat). I guess the big question is whether they will be harvesting your chatroom history for ad targeting.
Better start cleaning up your language, folks! And quit hiding your dirty deeds in your Open Chatting.
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| Advertisements appearing alongside active chatrooms list in KakaoTalk messenger app |
That is a sample of the first ad I received inside my chat list a few weeks ago.
And here's another example:
 |
| Ads in the chatroom list. Screenshot: ZDNet Korea |
Obviously, this is annoying. The ads in the desktop PC version of KakaoTalk were already annoying. The ads inside the additional features / settings page (apparently called "More...") were annoying. And these are annoying.
For me, the main issue isn't even that it is distracting. It's that there is this tiny little lag between the chatrooms list displaying and the ad sliding into it, which of course moves all the chats below the add down a little bit. When I am in a rush and need to get to a chatroom quickly, this little annoyance drives me insane.
I think this guy has a similar feeling:
“아직 사용 안 해봐서 잘 모르겠지만 계속 광고창이 떠있을 것 같아 터치 시 불편할 것 같다”
- [핫문쿨답] 카카오톡 새 광고 도입...10명 중 7명 ‘부정적’ - ZDNet korea
I'm not alone, because in fact according a ZDNet poll, 45% of people find these ads extremely annoying. 32% find them annoying but not a huge deal. Put be clearly in the 45% group.
 |
| Poll about users' feelings towards ads in the KakaoTalk chatroom list. Screenshsot: ZDNet Korea |
In another interesting tidbit from their poll, 63% of people said the most useful extra feature of KakaoTalk is the gift coupon exchanging. I have to agree because that's the only thing other than chatting I use KakaoTalk for.
Apparently some kind of AI system is used to display ads based on user info like your searches and interactions with the "#" feature (which I literally only use to search for meme type images to add inline in a chat). I guess the big question is whether they will be harvesting your chatroom history for ad targeting.
Better start cleaning up your language, folks! And quit hiding your dirty deeds in your Open Chatting.
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