After years of rumors, denials, and turns, Meta made it official: WhatsApp will start showing ads. The first step will be in the “Updates” tab, where ads in a Stories style will appear. The clean and untouchable WhatsApp is now history.
Although it won’t interrupt your chats, the app will no longer be the ad-free oasis that many adored.
Goodbye to purity: ads are coming to WhatsApp
WhatsApp joins the club of apps with ads. Meta confirmed that advertising will arrive through the Status feature (yes, that Instagram Stories clone that lives in the “Updates” tab). There, among the photo of your cousin at the beach and the motivational voice note from your aunt, you could come across sponsored content from brands.
The measure marks a strong change in direction. Let’s remember that the founders of WhatsApp were strongly against monetizing the app with advertising. But well, since Meta took control, it was only a matter of time.
Meta had already hinted at it (and now he is fulfilling it)
Although in 2020 Meta had officially discarded the idea of putting ads on WhatsApp, the topic never disappeared. In 2023, Will Cathcart, the head of WhatsApp, acknowledged that they were still looking for the “right” way to do it. Now it seems they have found it.
And yes, it makes sense from a business perspective: just last year, Meta billed over 160 billion dollars in advertising. With WhatsApp still ad-free, it was only a matter of time to close that gap.
And how will these ads be?
Meta says that the ads will be personalized, but using “limited information”: country, city, language, channels you follow, and how you interact with other ads. What they will not use, according to them, are your messages, calls, or groups.
In addition, you will be able to adjust your ad preferences from the Meta Account Center, as long as you have that function activated.
A key detail: your private chats are still sacred... for now.
More news: promoted channels and subscriptions
The ads are not the only upcoming change. WhatsApp will also start displaying promoted channels when you explore new content, and is activating the option to subscribe to channels to receive exclusive updates.
In summary: WhatsApp continues to evolve into a platform more similar to Facebook or Instagram, but with encrypted chats and a more discreet approach to advertising.