Whatsapp is making a big change. One we’ve known was coming for years. For the first time since its inception in 2009, the world’s most popular messaging app will feature ads.

That change is already underway. Meta, the parent company behind Whatsapp, says ads are rolling out within the platform’s Updates tab, the place where you share status updates or follow Channels of interest. The company stresses that these ads will not appear in chats. Conversations with friends and groups will remain free of ads, as Meta says the update is designed to avoid disruption of any sort.

With 1.5 billion people visiting the Updates tab every day, the space is prime for ad impressions. If you don’t regularly open the tab, you may not notice the change. But if you frequently engage with status updates and Channels, you’ll start to see commercial content.

Three Formats — And An Option To Pay

Whatsapp’s new ad system is based around three formats.

First, there are Status updates — the way users can share time-limited posts like photos, videos, or text. Now, companies will be able to advertise there, too. They’ll show up alongside friends’ status updates, in a familiar way. But instead of friends’ updates vanishing, you’ll occasionally see product promotions. You can message the advertiser from the ad itself, creating a one-on-one business-to-consumer channel.

Next, there are Promoted Channels. Admins can now pay to boost the visibility of their Channel inside the app. Meta says it’s an opportunity for organizations, content creators, and brands to build audiences without relying on off-platform promotion.

Finally, there’s the ability to pay for updates. Businesses can offer exclusive updates in a paid Channel. Say, a cooking Channel can charge a small monthly fee for premium recipes and alerts. Meta sees this as a way for creators to make money from their content — and for Whatsapp to make money, too.

All of this is part of a broader effort to make Whatsapp more business-friendly. In a briefing, Alice Newton Rex, VP of Product at Whatsapp, called the change a “natural evolution” since the Whatsapp Business Platform and click-to-Whatsapp ads on Facebook and Instagram have already scaled up.

Privacy Promises and Data Usage

Given Whatsapp’s long reputation as a private, secure messaging platform, the addition of ads was always going to raise eyebrows. But Meta says privacy remains intact.

Ad targeting will be based on general user data — like your country, age, language settings, and city. Whatsapp will not use the contents of your messages for ads. Instead, it’ll rely on your activity in Status and Channels. What Channels you follow, how you engage with content, and whether you click on ads — all of that will influence what ads you see.

On top of that, users who link Whatsapp to Meta’s Accounts Center — an optional feature — can sync their ad preferences. That means you can link your activity from Facebook or Instagram to your Whatsapp experience. The feature is turned off by default and can be removed anytime.

Whatsapp will also let users manage their ad preferences. You can see why a particular ad was shown to you, block it, hide it, or report it. You can even blacklist certain advertisers.

Until now, Whatsapp made money primarily through its Whatsapp Business Platform and Facebook/Instagram ads that link to Whatsapp threads. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has said that business messaging is exploding — but added that Whatsapp could generate even more revenue with its massive userbase.

It’s not the only platform headed in this direction. Discord introduced ads in 2024. Reddit has ramped up its ad offering as well — leading to its first ever profitable quarter. Nearly every platform relies heavily on advertising these days, so it makes sense that Whatsapp is, too.

Whatsapp has long promised to stay ad-free. But now, with Meta earning 98% of its revenue from advertising and having invested $16 billion in buying Whatsapp back in 2014, the company is obviously eager to cash in.

For most users, the experience won’t change much — at least, not right away. But the door is open. And with Meta’s deep interest in monetizing Whatsapp, these changes could be just the beginning.