WhatsApp Monetisation Features part of plans to attract users
By Douglas Maha
Meta has announced major changes to WhatsApp’s Updates tab, introducing three new features designed to help creators, businesses, and organizations grow their presence and monetize content.
In a statement released Monday, the company revealed that the Updates tab—which includes both Status and Channels—will now support Channel Subscriptions for exclusive content, Promoted Channels for improved discoverability, and Ads in Status to increase business visibility.
These updates mark WhatsApp’s most significant push yet into monetization, as the company emphasized that the features were created to support business growth without interfering with personal messaging.
According to the company, the Updates tab is the ideal space to introduce monetization tools while maintaining the platform’s privacy-first design.
Over 1.5 billion users engage with the Updates tab daily, using it to view friends’ Status updates or follow creators and public figures via Channels. Leveraging this massive daily audience, Meta hoped that the WhatsApp Monetisation Tools would help creators and businesses generate income and reach new users.
Channel Subscriptions will allow users to subscribe to their favorite Channels—such as news outlets, content creators, or sports teams—for a monthly fee to access exclusive content. Promoted Channels will help creators and businesses grow by allowing WhatsApp to suggest relevant Channels to users based on their interests, representing WhatsApp’s first paid promotional tool.
Meanwhile, Ads in Status will let businesses place targeted ads similar to Instagram Stories, enabling users to discover new products or services and message advertisers directly.
Despite these new WhatsApp Monetization Tools, Meta reaffirmed its commitment to privacy. All personal messages, calls, groups, and even Status updates remain end-to-end encrypted. The company stressed that it will never sell or share users’ phone numbers with advertisers.
Ad targeting in Status and suggested Channels will use only limited information, such as users’ country, city, language, Channels followed, and ad interactions. For those who have linked their WhatsApp to Meta’s Accounts Center, broader ad preferences may be used across Meta services, still without compromising personal chats.
The rollout of these WhatsApp Monetisation Tools will take place gradually over the coming months. Businesses and Channel admins interested in getting early access or learning more can find additional resources through official WhatsApp Business channels.
