WhatsApp this week introduced advertising to its messaging platform, but your encrypted conversation threads in the Meta-owned app are off limits for marketers – at least for now.
WhatsApp announced on Monday it will display ads through three new features, all contained within the Updates tab. Users will see promoted content in Status updates, discover promoted channels, and encounter subscription-based channel content.
The ads won't appear in personal chats or use encrypted message content for targeting. Instead, WhatsApp said it will rely on basic information like location, language, and channel follows to serve relevant ads.
"We've been talking about our plans to build a business that does not interrupt your personal chats for years," WhatsApp stated in its announcement.
The move comes after years of deliberation. WhatsApp's founders originally opposed advertising, and Meta shelved similar plans in 2020. However, with 1.5 billion daily users of the Updates tab, the company sees clear monetization potential.
Of course, the strategy could easily backfire in privacy-conscious markets like Europe, where users consider WhatsApp a messaging tool rather than a content platform. As it stands though, users who stick to messaging won't notice any changes.
