Photo-sharing app Instagram will soon be introducing ads, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Currently with over 150 million monthly users, Instagram has revealed that it is getting ready to start selling ads within the next year in order to monetize its business.
“We want to make money in the long term, but we don’t have any short-term pressure,” Emily White, Instagram’s Director of Business Operations—who was from parent company Facebook—told The Wall Street Journal.
In terms of what the ads would look like within the app, White hopes to integrate them without sacrificing Instagram’s simplistic look—so that the ads would not be a deterrent to users.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the team is “looking at the possibilities around the app’s Discover feature, which promotes popular content,” as well as the “search function, which allows users to look up images or themes.”
Some retailers are also “interested in ad products that will allow users to click on pictures of products that link to a retailer’s own site,” White told The Wall Street Journal.
What do you think Instagram would look like with ads? In the meantime, enjoy your ad-free app.
[via The Wall Street Journal]