Ads are “rolling out gradually” to WhatsApp

For the first time since launching in 2009, WhatsApp will now show users advertisements. The ads are “rolling out gradually,” the company said.

For now, the ads will only appear on WhatsApp's Updates tab, where users can update their status and access channels or groups targeting specific interests they may want to follow. In its announcement of the ads, parent company Meta claimed that placing ads under Updates means that the ads won’t “interrupt personal chats.”

Meta said that 1.5 billion people use the Updates tab daily. However, if you exclusively use WhatsApp for direct messages and personal group chats, you could avoid ever seeing ads.

“Now the Updates tab is going to be able to help Channel admins, organizations, and businesses build and grow,” Meta’s announcement said.

WhatsApp users will see three different types of ads on their messaging app. One is through the tab’s Status section, where users typically share photos, videos, voice notes, and/or text with their friends that disappear after 24 hours. While scrolling through friends’ status updates, users will see status updates from advertisers and can send a message to the company about the offering that it is promoting.

There are also Promoted Channels: “For the first time, admins have a way to increase their Channel's visibility,” Meta said.

Finally, WhatsApp is allowing advertisers to charge users a monthly fee in order to “receive exclusive updates.” For example, people could subscribe to a cooking Channel and request alerts for new recipes.

In order to decide which ads users see, Meta says WhatsApp will leverage user information like their country code, age, their device’s language settings, and the user’s “general (not precise) location, like city or country.”

Additionally, WhatsApp will decide ad placement based on users’ “activity information on Status and Channels, such as channels people follow, content people engage with in channels, and how people interact with the ads they see. As always, people’s status content is end-to-end encrypted.”

WhatsApp is also basing ad placement on how people use other apps in Meta’s portfolio.

"If people use Accounts Center, their ad preferences will apply, and info from across their accounts is used for ads. Adding WhatsApp to Accounts Center is optional, off by default and can be removed at any time,” Meta's marketing materials say.

WhatsApp’s messaging about the ads also tries to convince users that their privacy will still be prioritized, even though WhatApp has newfound interest in showing relevant ads to users, which requires some user data. An FAQ page about the ads reads:

WhatsApp uses Meta’s technology to show people ads. By default, we remove or alter personal information (like phone numbers) before sharing it with Meta so that Meta cannot identify you and is only able to suggest ads that may appeal to people who share broad characteristics such as a general area.

WhatsApp also claims that Meta will not use “personal information” to show ads on WhatsApp “unless you choose to use optional features that work across Meta Company Products, like Accounts Center.”

WhatsApp's ads feature also lets users see “why you’re seeing this ad,” change which advertisers can show you ads, and hide or report ads.

An expected turn

WhatsApp has long touted itself as the more private web-based messaging option. However, its foray into advertisements could skew that reputation as the company attempts to balance the needs of users and advertisers.