US Edition
WhatsApp to Start Showing Ads to Users in Parts of the Messaging App
UNITED STATES, JUN 16 – Meta introduces ads and paid subscriptions in WhatsApp's Updates tab used daily by 1.5 billion users, maintaining encrypted personal chats to protect user privacy.
- On June 16, 2025, WhatsApp announced it will roll out new advertisements within its Updates tab globally over the coming months.
- WhatsApp has planned these ad features for years to build a business that avoids interrupting personal chats or compromising encryption.
- The new features introduced in the Updates tab include advertisements shown in Status, subscription options for Channels, and highlighted channels appearing in the directory search results.
- Nikila Srinivasan, Meta's head of product, explained that the company will rely on minimal basic data such as location and followed channels to tailor ads, emphasizing that the Updates tab is the most suitable area to introduce these advertising features.
- This move marks a major shift for WhatsApp as it aims to monetize while preserving user privacy and ensuring personal messages, calls, and groups remain encrypted and ad-free.
381 Articles
381 Articles
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