WhatsApp Unveils Ads in Status, New Channels in Feature Shake-Up
WhatsApp has announced plans to introduce advertising to its Status feature, alongside several other new capabilities on the platform. The company is implementing channel subscriptions, promoted channels, and Status advertisements as part of its latest feature expansion.
The channel subscription feature allows WhatsApp users to financially support channels they enjoy by paying a monthly fee in exchange for exclusive content updates. Meanwhile, promoted channels will help users discover new content through enhanced visibility in the directory, while also providing channel administrators with tools to increase their reach.
The Status advertising feature is designed to help users connect with businesses by enabling them to initiate conversations directly from Status content.
The platform reports that these features are currently utilised by more than 1.5 billion users daily. “We are encouraged by the enthusiasm and want to increase the support we provide to admins, organisations, and businesses that rely on this tab every day,” Meta said. “These new features will appear on the Updates tab, away from your chats, so if you are only using WhatsApp to chat, these changes do not affect you at all.”
WhatsApp emphasised that privacy remains a priority in developing these features, ensuring that personal messages, calls, and Statuses maintain end-to-end encryption—”meaning no one (not even us) can see or hear them.”
“To show ads in Status or Channels you might care about, we’ll use limited info like your country or city, language, the Channels you’re following, and how you interact with the ads you see. For people who have chosen to add WhatsApp to Accounts Centre, we’ll also use your ad preferences and info from across your Meta accounts,” the company said.
The company stressed that users’ phone numbers will never be sold or shared with advertisers, and that personal conversations, calls, and group memberships will not influence advertising targeting.
“We’ve been talking about our plans to build a business that does not interrupt your personal chats for years, and we bel—”
