Overview
- Ads are being rolled out globally in the Updates tab, which 1.5 billion users visit daily and remains separate from personal chats.
- WhatsApp will target ads based on country, city, language, followed channels and ad interactions, without using messages, calls or phone numbers for ad targeting.
- Creators can offer paid channel subscriptions for exclusive updates, with Meta collecting a 10% fee on subscription revenue.
- The move ends WhatsApp’s original ad-free model set by co-founders Jan Koum and Brian Acton and expands Meta’s efforts to monetize its platforms.
- Reactions have been mixed, with businesses praising new marketing tools and privacy advocates urging users to consider alternatives like Signal.