WhatsApp Says Ads Won’t Use Encrypted Chats as Rollout Reaches More Users

WhatsApp has reportedly begun to show ads to more users. For now, the ads appear in the Updates tab, only in Status and Channels, without showing up in individual chats. Many users have reported seeing promotional content, while WhatsApp also started to show in-app alerts, which let people know that ads would now show in those sections.

The social media firm earlier confirmed its plans to bring advertisements to WhatsApp Status. As it discussed with the businesses and individuals, promotions on the messaging app aimed at helping the former reach more people and start conversations regarding certain products or services directly on the platform. Users will also be able to view an advertiser profile, hide or report ads, or open additional information using a menu option.

A WhatsApp pop-up seen by several users states that individual messages, calls, and statuses will remain end-to-end encrypted and will not be used to determine the ads shown to people. Instead, ad targeting will be based on signals such as the user's region, device language, channels followed, and interactions within channels or statuses.

The rollout appears to be gradual. However, increasing reports on X and other platforms indicate that the feature is progressing rapidly. Those who want to manage ad preferences can go to Settings – Accounts Center – Account settings – Ad preferences.

Individual ads can also be hidden: status ads from the three-dot menu and channel ads by tapping the 'Sponsored' label. While ads will open up another revenue stream for the company, it remains to be seen how the larger user base reacts to this.

For those who don't know, according to the latest reports, WhatsApp has more than 3 billion monthly active users worldwide and daily active users are between 2.3 to 2.6 billion, making it one of the largest messaging platforms worldwide.