WhatsApp ads in the “Updates” section, personal chats remain ad-free
WhatsApp introduced advertising on its messaging platform this week, but the encrypted conversation histories in the Meta-owned app are off-limits to advertisers—at least for now. Ads will be displayed via three new features in the “Updates” tab. Users see promoted content in status updates, discover promoted channels, and can access subscription-based channel content.
The ads do not appear in private chats and do not use encrypted message content for targeting. Instead, WhatsApp announced that it will rely on basic information such as location, language, and channel follows to serve relevant ads.
“We’ve been talking for years about our plans to build a company that doesn’t interrupt your personal chats,” WhatsApp explained in its announcement.
This move comes after years of deliberation. WhatsApp’s founders originally rejected advertising, and Meta shelved similar plans in 2020. However, given the 1.5 billion daily users of the Updates tab, the company clearly sees monetization potential.
Of course, this strategy could easily backfire in privacy-conscious markets like Europe, where users view WhatsApp more as a messaging tool than a content platform. As it stands, however, users who stick with messaging won’t notice any changes.
