In a significant shift towards monetisation, WhatsApp has announced the launch of three new advertising features, which are now being rolled out globally. The Meta-owned messaging platform, which boasts over 1.5 billion users worldwide, is introducing ads in a way it says will protect user privacy while giving businesses new tools to promote their content.
Crucially, WhatsApp has clarified that ads will not appear in users’ personal chat windows, and the contents of private messages — protected by end-to-end encryption — will not be used to target advertisements. Instead, ad suggestions will be based on less intrusive data, including a user’s country, city, language preferences, interactions with other ads, and the channels they follow on the app.
However, for users who have linked their WhatsApp accounts with Facebook or Instagram, Meta’s advertising ecosystem will allow for more personalised ad targeting across the platforms.
The new ad placements will appear in the “Updates” tab — a dedicated section located at the bottom of the WhatsApp interface. This tab currently houses content such as channels and status updates, and it will now serve as the primary space for business-led promotions.
Businesses running WhatsApp channels will soon be able to promote their content in this Updates section to attract new followers. Additionally, they will have the option to charge users a subscription fee for accessing premium or exclusive content. WhatsApp plans to take a 10% commission from these subscription fees, with possible additional charges depending on app store policies and business scale.
Another new ad format will resemble Instagram-style “Stories.” Businesses can share status updates that link directly to a chat window when clicked — offering an interactive bridge between brands and consumers.
According to social media expert Matt Navarra, this move marks Meta’s attempt to finally turn WhatsApp into a scalable revenue-generating platform. While WhatsApp has long resisted heavy advertising unlike its sister platforms, these changes reflect a growing push to capitalise on its vast user base.
Still, Navarra warned that the transformation is not without risks. In regions such as the UK and Europe — where WhatsApp is largely seen as a private messaging tool — users may resist the shift towards content feeds and ads. “Any perception that the app is becoming noisy or Facebook-ified will spark backlash,” he said.
WhatsApp head Will Cathcart defended the strategy, saying it aligns with trends seen across other messaging platforms like Snapchat and Telegram. “It’s a natural extension of messaging services,” he said, acknowledging that there is “obvious overlap” with Meta’s existing platforms. Cathcart emphasized that this new approach aims to help businesses promote themselves across multiple platforms using similar tools.
Responding to recent user dissatisfaction — particularly regarding the unremovable AI button introduced by Meta — Cathcart reassured that ads would not interfere with the core messaging experience. “If you’re only using WhatsApp for messaging, you’re not going to see this,” he stressed. He admitted that features like the Updates, Calls, and Channels buttons cannot be removed but added that this is a trade-off to maintain simplicity and avoid overwhelming users with too many settings.
Ultimately, the latest developments reflect Meta’s broader strategy to evolve WhatsApp into a richer platform — not just for communication, but for commerce and content as well. Whether users embrace this evolution or resist it remains to be seen.
