WhatsApp is preparing to launch advertisements and paid features directly into its Updates tab, as it moves from resisting monetisation in its core user experience.
This follows years of speculation and denials, pointing to Meta’s thriving urgency to turn WhatsApp’s massive user base into a revenue driver.
The messaging platform, which now serves over two billion people globally, is rolling out three commercial tools designed to help creators, businesses, and organisations promote content and generate income.
These include paid Channel subscriptions, promoted listings for Channels in the app’s Discovery section, and targeted ads inside WhatsApp’s Status feature.
The changes will be limited to the Updates tab, which hosts both Channels and Status updates, and not the main chat interface where users exchange personal messages.
Meta says this strategy aims to avoid disrupting the private, ad-free chat experience WhatsApp is known for.
“We’ve been talking about 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 to work,” WhatsApp said.
According to the company, the rollout is phased and may take several months to reach all users globally. While the features are business-centric, Meta insists that privacy is unchanged and personal messaging will not be affected or monitored for advertising.
“I want to be really clear about one thing: Your personal messages, calls and statuses will remain end-to-end encrypted. This means no one, not even us, can see or hear them, and they cannot be used for ads,” said Nikila Srinivasan, vice president of Product Management at Meta.
Instead, ads and suggestions will rely on basic device-level data such as language, city, and how users interact with the Updates tab.
For those who have linked WhatsApp to Meta’s Accounts Centre, their ad preferences and Meta-wide activity may influence what they see, though not their phone numbers, private messages, or group activities.
“To show ads in Status or Channels, we’re going to use basic information like your country or city, your device language and your activity in the Updates tab,” Srinivasan added.
With this new development, Meta wants to transform WhatsApp into a multi-layered platform, one that accommodates both personal communication and business engagement.
Until now, WhatsApp’s monetisation exertions had been largely restricted to business messaging tools and minimal ad tests.
This is the first time WhatsApp will allow businesses to push sponsored content in ways similar to Instagram Stories, while creators and public figures can charge subscribers for exclusive content via Channels.
The timeline for full global availability is not yet known but Meta has already opened up access to the features through its WhatsApp Business tools.
