WhatsApp Now Includes Ads: All the Details on Meta’s Big Update

WhatsApp is introducing advertisements to its platform. In an update on Monday, Meta announced that it will now display ads from businesses through WhatsApp’s Stories-like “Status” feature.

The Status feature, located in the “Updates” tab, allows users to share disappearing text, photos, voice notes, and video messages. With this update, users may begin to see sponsored content alongside updates from friends and family.

Meta has been exploring the idea of bringing ads to WhatsApp for several years—an approach that WhatsApp’s original founders strongly opposed. Although Meta canceled its initial plans to launch in-app ads in 2020, WhatsApp head Will Cathcart confirmed in 2023 that the company was still considering the move. Last year, Meta generated more than $160 billion in advertising revenue.

According to Meta, the ads will be tailored to user interests using “limited” information, such as your country or city, language, channels you follow, and how you interact with ads on the platform. Users can also adjust their ad preferences through Meta’s Accounts Center.

“We’ve discussed our plans to build a business that does not interrupt your personal chats for years, and we believe the Updates tab is the right place for these new features,” Meta stated. The company emphasized that it “will never sell or share your phone numbers with advertisers,” and will not use your messages, calls, or group activity to personalize ads.

In addition to these changes, Meta will start showing promoted channels when users click the Explore button to discover new channels. WhatsApp is also rolling out a feature that allows users to subscribe to channels to “receive exclusive updates.”