WhatsApp, the world’s most popular messaging service, will soon begin to show paid ads to users for the first time, marking a major shift in a platform that once proudly announced it will remain ad-hoc.
The dollar owns the service with approximately 3 billion active users per month and will promote advertising capabilities worldwide in the coming months. However, WhatsApp insists that the ads won’t appear in the user’s personal chat, but instead show up in the “Status” section of the app, which is used for a brief update space similar to Instagram stories.
The move brings WhatsApp’s functionality closer to its sister platforms Facebook and Instagram, and has sent out Meta’s intention to generate revenue from the service, which purchased the service for $19 billion in 2014, the group’s largest acquisition ever.
WhatsApp says businesses running “channels” on the platform will now be able to promote content in the “Update” tab, which also includes status. The company will also be allowed to charge users for accessing premium content through subscriptions, and WhatsApp is expected to receive a 10% commission.
These new monetization features cannot be deleted as WhatsApp faces scrutiny of recent updates, including the controversial “Ask Meta AI” button. The platform seems keen to assure users that their private conversations will remain banned.
“These new features will only appear on the Updates tab, away from your personal chat,” WhatsApp said.
“Your personal information, calls and status are still end-to-end encrypted, and no one even can’t see or hear them even when we do.”
However, the app will share limited user metadata with advertisers, including one’s location, language, the channels they follow, and how they interact with ads. It stressed that phone numbers and personal messaging behaviors will not be shared or sold.
The company also clarified that users who are not involved in status updates or channels will not see ads in their inbox. WhatsApp chief Will Cathcart said: “If you only use WhatsApp for messaging, you won’t see this message.
Despite repeated assurances in the past that WhatsApp won’t adopt an advertising model, the announcement confirms a significant shift in Meta’s strategy. The original co-founder of WhatsApp, including Brian Acton, left the company after a clash with the app’s direction, most notably the plan to monetize it through advertising. Acton famously announced “no ads, no games, no fancy” as part of WhatsApp’s founding mission.
Whatsapp denied the report that it was considering introducing ads in 2023, but Meta now appears to be committed to monetizing more aggressively. These changes reflect the growing demand for Meta to diversify revenue streams in a competitive digital landscape dominated by Tiktok, YouTube and other fast-growing content platforms.
Yuan also continues to face pressure from regulators. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is suing the company, accusing it of illegally acquiring WhatsApp and Instagram to curb competition. Meta founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg retreated, believing the company faced fierce competition, especially from Tiktok, which cited a surge in traffic when Tiktok briefly went offline as evidence in January.
WhatsApp’s commercialization may divide users. Although the platform has become an essential communication tool in many parts of the world, especially in developing markets, its growing integration with a Meta-driven ecosystem may alienate users, who value their simplicity and privacy advantages.
Nevertheless, for metadata, WhatsApp’s unexplored monetization potential (its huge user base and business integration) is too great to ignore. More than 200 million businesses use the platform for customer service and engagement, so adding advertising tools and subscriptions represents a significant new revenue opportunity.
As the changes begin rolling out, the tech giant will closely monitor whether users tolerate the existence of commercial content or whether the move triggers strong opposition across one of WhatsApp’s most sacred and inviolable boundaries.
