What’s Happening
Meta is piloting two major advertising features in WhatsApp’s Updates tab: Status Ads and Promoted Channels. Both are currently available only to select beta testers—initially on Android (v2.25.21.11) and recently to iOS beta users (v25.20.10.78) Status Ads: These are sponsored posts interspersed among user status updates. Businesses upload short media (images, video, text) similar to Instagram Stories, clearly labeled “Sponsored.” Users can swipe through, skip, block, or report specific ads
Promoted Channels: Public channel admins—such as brands or creators—can pay to boost their visibility in channel discovery directories. Channel listings marked “Sponsored” appear higher in search results, helping expand their audience.
Privacy & User Controls
Meta continues to emphasize privacy:
Ad placement is restricted to the public Updates tab. Personal chats, groups, calls, and messages remain end-to-end encrypted and unaffected
Ads are targeted using limited metadata—such as country or city, language, followed channels, and ad interaction history. Chat content, phone numbers, group info, and calls are not used for ad targeting
Users can block specific advertisers to stop seeing their content, and can find detailed ad activity reports showing which ads were shown and when.
Business & Monetisation Strategy
Meta aims to position WhatsApp as a monetizable platform beyond simple messaging:
Of the three new features—Status Ads, Promoted Channels, and paid subscriptions for Channels—the latter enables channel admins to charge users for exclusive content. Meta plans to eventually take a cut (e.g. 10%) from these subscriptions With over 1.5 billion daily users interacting with the Updates tab, Meta sees enormous potential. Analysts like Evercore’s Mark Mahaney estimate WhatsApp could generate $10+ billion in annual ad revenue and add significant operating income by 2028.
This move mirrors Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s long-stated vision of making messaging platforms a major business growth pillar, by leveraging ad formats similar to those on Instagram and Facebook but without compromising user privacy
User Reception & Concerns
The beta rollout has sparked user pushback:“WhatsApp officially now includes advertisements directly … That’s what channels are. Ads. This is disgusting”
Others on Reddit expressed even broader frustration:“It’s become overwhelming … I think it’s high time WhatsApp introduces a separate tab to classify all these marketing and promotional channels into one place.”
Despite assurances, many users remain skeptical about whether WhatsApp can sustain its identity as a privacy-first, messaging-centric app as it evolves into an ad-driven ecosystem.
Summary
Meta is pushing WhatsApp into its next phase: monetization via advertising and premium content, while maintaining a firewall between ads and personal messaging. Two new beta features—Status Ads and Promoted Channels—are currently being trialed by select users. Ads appear only in the Updates tab and use minimal, non-sensitive metadata for targeting, with clear labeling and user controls. The goal is to enable businesses and creators to reach audiences directly, while preserving WhatsApp’s core privacy values. If successful, Meta may transform WhatsApp into a significant revenue source expected to generate billions annually. Meanwhile, users are already voicing concern over changes to the app’s original identity.
Let me know if you’d like details on channel subscriptions, ad design best practices, technical implementation, or upcoming regional rollouts!