After years of providing free services without any bells attached, WhatsApp is now going to start showing ads on the popular chat app. To be clear, users will only see ads on the Status screen — the app’s take on Instagram’s Stories.

WhatsApp announced yesterday that it will now show ads from businesses through its Stories-like feature, months after adding an unnecessary floating AI button to the main chat interface. In response,

WhatsApp, long considered a sanctuary from ads, is now showing promotions in its Updates tab. Meta’s announcement brings status ads, channel promotions and paid subscriptions to the app. Private chats remain untouched,

WhatsApp is testing ads in Status and paid channel subscriptions, all inside the Updates tab. Private messages remain encrypted and ad-free.

Today, @WhatsApp is introducing new features in the Updates tab (like channel subscriptions, promoted channels and ads in Status) without changing anything about your personal chats (they remain end to end encrypted). https://t.co/agscs7n1o6 — Meta Newsroom (@MetaNewsroom) June 16, 2025

Key Takeaways Shares of Meta Platforms got a boost Monday as the tech giant announced plans to introduce paid advertising to WhatsApp, opening up a new revenue stream. After reclaiming the 50- and 200-day moving averages,

The Updates tab, which holds layers such as Status and Channels, will host Meta’s WhatsApp monetisation efforts. At least for now.