MANILA, Philippines – Messenger, the messaging application of Facebook, is expanding its advertisements beta program globally, after trial runs in Australia and Thailand. 

Facebook announced the development on Wednesday, July 12, through a blog post, adding it will now “offer businesses around the world a way to use Facebook targeting to extend their reach to people in Messenger.”

The ads will appear on a Messenger user’s home screen, which acts as the general inbox for chats and messages from friends and family, automated bots, or brands.

Users who tap on an ad will be sent to a destination chosen by the ad maker during the creation of the advertisement.

Speaking to Venturebeat, Messenger head of product Stan Chudnovsky said users could see advertisements on their home screens by the end of the year. He added that the timing for a movement from beta to general availability will be based on how ads are received by users.

“When the average user can be sure to see them we truly don’t know because we’re just going to be very data-driven and user feedback-driven on making that decision,” Chudnovsky explained. – Rappler.com