This represents a notable change for the platform, contemplating its founders, Jan Koum and Brian Acton, had dedicated to conserving WhatsApp free from commercials.
WhatsApp introduced on Monday that customers will quickly start to see commercials inside particular sections of the app. This determination comes as guardian firm Meta Platforms explores new methods to generate income from its huge consumer base of billions. The advertisements will solely seem within the Updates tab, which is utilised by roughly 1.5 billion folks each day, guaranteeing that non-public chat areas stay ad-free. In a weblog submit, WhatsApp reassured customers that the private messaging expertise will stay unchanged, emphasising that non-public messages, calls, and statuses are end-to-end encrypted and won’t be used for promoting functions.
This marks a major shift for the platform, based in 2009 by Jan Koum and Brian Acton, who had pledged to maintain WhatsApp freed from commercials. After Fb acquired WhatsApp in 2014, each founders departed a couple of years later, leaving Meta searching for methods to monetize the app.
Will use your private information
WhatsApp indicated that commercials will likely be focused based mostly on varied components, together with age, geographic location, language preferences, the channels customers observe throughout the app, and their interactions with the advertisements. Importantly, the app clarified that it’ll not use private messages, calls, or group memberships to tailor advertisements for people.
Along with this new promoting initiative, WhatsApp launched two different options aimed toward monetisation: Channels can have the choice to cost customers a month-to-month subscription payment for unique updates, and enterprise homeowners will pay to reinforce their channel’s visibility to draw new followers.
The vast majority of Meta’s income derives from promoting; in 2025, the corporate’s income totaled USD 164.5 billion, with USD 160.6 billion of that determine coming from advert gross sales.
In the meantime, WhatsApp has rolled out quite a lot of new options to make Standing updates extra partaking and expressive. With the introduction of music stickers, interactive instruments, and structure collages, these enhancements remodel primary updates into vibrant tales. By doing so, the Standing part turns into rather more than simply fleeting images or textual content posts, inviting customers to share richer experiences.
ALSO READ: TRAI fixes tariffs for Wi-Fi hotspots as much as 200 mbps: What this implies for you