By buld_online 
WhatsApp has officially begun rolling out advertisements and subscription options within its Updates tab, marking a significant shift in how Meta’s messaging platform plans to monetise its services while keeping private conversations off limits.
Used by 1.5 billion people daily, the Updates tab is home to Status posts and the newer Channels feature. The platform now plans to allow ads in these sections, alongside a system for paid channel subscriptions and promoted visibility for channels.
“We’re introducing some new features for our Updates tab… to help admins, organisations, and businesses grow on WhatsApp,” the company said in a blog post.
Here’s what’s changing:
• Ads in Status: Businesses can now promote products or services directly through WhatsApp Status, offering users an option to discover new services and instantly start conversations with the brands.
• Channel Subscriptions: Users will be able to subscribe to their favourite Channels for a monthly fee to receive exclusive updates.
• Promoted Channels: WhatsApp will recommend Channels based on user interest, helping creators and organisations increase visibility.
These updates are designed to appear only in the Updates tab, away from users’ personal chats. WhatsApp stressed that messages, calls, and groups will remain end-to-end encrypted, maintaining the platform’s core privacy proposition.
To personalise the ad experience, WhatsApp will use limited data such as location, language, and channel interaction. For users who have integrated WhatsApp with Meta’s Accounts Center, cross-platform ad preferences may also come into play. However, WhatsApp emphasised that it will not sell or share users’ phone numbers and will not mine personal messages or calls for ad targeting.