After years of speculation and resistance to advertising, Meta has officially announced the rollout of ads on WhatsApp, marking a significant shift for the world’s most popular messaging app. The update, revealed in June 2025, introduces sponsored content within the Updates tab, specifically targeting the Status and Channels features, while keeping personal and group chats free from advertisements.
Ads will appear between user-generated Status updates, similar to how Instagram Stories ads are displayed. Status allows users to share photos, videos, and text that vanish after 24 hours. WhatsApp’s one-to-many broadcast feature, Channels, will also display ads between posts. Promoted Channels will gain visibility in the Explore section, and select creators or businesses can charge users a subscription for exclusive content.
Importantly, ads will not appear in personal or group chats, nor in calls. Meta emphasizes that private messages remain end-to-end encrypted and untouched by advertising algorithms.
Meta states that WhatsApp ads will use only basic, non-invasive signals for targeting, such as:
Country and city
Device language
Channels followed
Ad interactions within WhatsApp
No personal message content, phone numbers, or chat data will be used for ad targeting. Users can manage ad preferences through Meta’s Account Center, which links data across Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp if enabled.
WhatsApp, acquired by Meta (then Facebook) for $19 billion in 2014, has long stood apart from Meta’s other platforms by avoiding advertising. However, with over 3 billion monthly active users and more than 1.5 billion daily interactions in Status and Channels, WhatsApp represents an enormous untapped revenue stream. Meta generated over $160 billion in ad revenue in 2024 from Facebook and Instagram, but WhatsApp’s direct monetization has been limited to business tools and click-to-message ads until now.
Meta’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg describes this move as “the next chapter” for WhatsApp, aiming to help businesses build relationships and reach new audiences without compromising the app’s core privacy ethos.
The core chat experience remains unchanged and ad-free. Ads will be visible only in the Updates tab, which includes Status and Channels. Users can expect ad formats similar to those on Instagram Stories and Facebook. Brands now have new opportunities to reach WhatsApp’s vast user base through Status and Channel ads, as well as through promoted and subscription-based channels.
The ad rollout is global and gradual, with Meta clarifying that even the European Union will not be exempt, despite initial reports suggesting otherwise. Some regions, such as Ireland, may see a delayed launch until 2026 due to regulatory considerations.