WhatsApp Ads, Autonomous Taxis, and 23andMe Acquisition: Daily Tech Headlines

WhatsApp's New Ad Strategy

• 📱 WhatsApp is introducing ads into its Status screen, similar to Instagram Stories.
• 🎯 Ad targeting will use non-personally identifiable data like location and language, excluding messages, calls, and phone numbers.
• 💰 Businesses and creators can also promote channels and offer paid subscriptions for exclusive content.

Expanding Ad Platforms

• 📈 Netflix is partnering with Yahoo to broaden its programmatic ad sales through Yahoo's demand-side platform (DSP).
• 🤖 TikTok is enhancing its AI ad platform, Symphony, allowing brands to create influencer-style content with virtual avatars.
• 📺 Amazon Ads and Roku have agreed to a deal enabling advertisers to use Amazon's DSP for targeted ads across Roku's platforms.
• 💬 Reddit is testing AI-powered conversation summary add-ons that place curated positive user comments below ads to boost engagement.

Business and Technology News

• 📱 The Trump family has launched Trump Mobile, an MVNO operating on the T-Mobile network, offering a $499 gold T1 phone.
• 🚕 Seoul, South Korea, is expanding its late-night autonomous taxi service to cover the entire Gangnam District.
• 🧬 Anne Wojcicki's TTAM Research Institute is set to acquire 23andMe, following the company's bankruptcy filing after a data breach.
• ⚖️ The acquisition of 23andMe faces opposition from 28 state attorneys general concerned about customer genetic data privacy.