WhatsApp has begun rolling out advertising across its Status and Channels features, marking a significant shift for one of the world’s most widely used messaging platforms. The move represents WhatsApp’s first introduction of sponsored content, years after its acquisition by Meta, while preserving its long-standing promise that private conversations will remain free of adverts.
The adverts appear between Status updates and within Channels feeds, creating new opportunities for businesses to reach users in spaces designed for content discovery and updates. Meta has stressed that personal and group chats will continue to be end-to-end encrypted and excluded from ad targeting, ensuring messages and calls remain private. Ads are therefore limited to areas where users already consume public or semi-public content from contacts and subscribed channels.
The rollout is gradual, meaning some users may not encounter adverts immediately. Where they do appear, they will be clearly placed between Status posts or embedded within Channels. For users who primarily rely on WhatsApp for direct messaging or group conversations, the overall experience is expected to remain unchanged. This separation is intended to protect WhatsApp’s reputation as a secure, private communication service.
Privacy assurances remain central to the update. WhatsApp has reiterated that personal messages, calls and shared content are protected by end-to-end encryption. The company does not monitor who users communicate with, nor does it analyse chat content to determine advertising. Contact lists, group memberships and locations shared within conversations are not used for advertising purposes.
Instead, advert delivery is based on limited and non-personal signals. These include general account information such as country and age, device settings like language, and broad location data. Engagement within the Updates tab, including followed Channels, interacted content and adverts previously clicked, may also influence what promotions are shown. WhatsApp says this approach allows for relevant advertising without compromising user privacy.
Users who choose to link WhatsApp to Meta’s Accounts Center may see advertising preferences from platforms such as Facebook and Instagram reflected in WhatsApp. Even in these cases, personal identifiers are anonymised, and account linking does not affect end-to-end encryption.
WhatsApp is also offering users greater visibility and control over advertising. Sponsored posts are clearly labelled, and users can tap options such as “Why you’re seeing this ad” to understand how it was selected. Adverts can be hidden or reported, advertisers reviewed, and preferences managed centrally through Meta’s Accounts Center.
The introduction of advertising marks WhatsApp’s most notable step towards monetisation to date. By confining adverts to Status and Channels while keeping chats untouched, Meta is attempting to balance revenue generation with user trust. For users, the change introduces a new layer of content discovery without undermining the private conversations that remain at the heart of WhatsApp’s appeal.
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