New Delhi— WhatsApp is set to roll out advertisements and paid features in its ‘Updates’ tab, marking a significant shift in its monetization strategy since being acquired by Meta in 2014. The messaging platform, which has largely remained ad-free until now, confirmed that personal messaging will remain untouched.
The new ad offerings will be confined to the Updates tab, which houses the Channels and Status features—used by over 1.5 billion people daily. WhatsApp emphasized that core features such as personal chats, group messages, and calls will remain ad-free and fully end-to-end encrypted.
“We’ve long envisioned a business model that doesn’t interfere with personal messaging,” the company said in a statement. “We believe the Updates tab is the appropriate space for these new features.”
Among the upcoming changes are paid channel subscriptions, ads in the Status feature (similar to Instagram Stories), and promoted channels in the Discovery section. These updates will begin rolling out in select countries over the coming months.
The paid subscription model will allow users to support their favorite channels and receive exclusive updates, offering a new revenue stream for creators and organizations directly through WhatsApp.
Promoted channels will also debut as a discoverability tool, enabling channel admins to boost visibility in the directory—marking the first time WhatsApp has offered such a promotional feature.
Despite the monetization push, WhatsApp reassured users that their everyday messaging experience will remain unchanged.
“If you only use WhatsApp to chat with friends and loved ones, there is no change to your experience at all,” the company reiterated.
The move reflects Meta’s broader effort to generate revenue from WhatsApp’s vast user base, which exceeds two billion monthly active users. Analysts have long speculated that advertising would eventually make its way to the platform, given its global reach and high user engagement.
Although no specific launch dates have been announced, WhatsApp said the features would be introduced gradually with user privacy protections firmly in place. (Source: IANS)
