WhatsApp Ads Are Now Showing Up In Status Updates And Channels For These Users
WhatsApp ads are coming for your updates and channels but it will never intrude your chat space, the messaging platform has said earlier.
WhatsApp confirmed ads are coming in the form of status updates and for promoted channels. And now we have started seeing signs of how this new version of the messaging app will work out in the long term.
The latest Android beta update is the first version to come with WhatsApp ads, taking it one step closer to other Meta products like Instagram and Facebook. WhatsApp announced ads back in June this year, and assured users that it will never invade their chat space/feed with ads.
The details about the new update and WhatsApp ads roll out has been shared by WaBetaInfo in a post recently. The tipster says users are seeing Status update ads in the beta version 2.25.21.11 that is available for select beta testers for now. Status update becomes the main hub for ads on WhatsApp and as you scroll through updates from different contacts, the messaging app will place an ad with a sponsored post label.
This is similar to how you see ads between Stories on Instagram. We independently checked for ads in the Status update with WhatsApp beta version but it seems the roll out even for the beta testers is being limited to some users for now.
WhatsApp is offering ads for channel subscriptions, promoted channels and Status updates. Status updates have become popular among WhatsApp users and the platform clearly sees a way out to push ads and keep its user base satisfied.
WhatsApp says ads will not come where your personal chats are located but going by the earlier promises and claims made by Meta, we cannot discount that changing in the near future. WhatsApp also assures that it will never sell/share your phone number to advertisers and your chats or calls will never become part of its exercise to push personalised ads.
Having said that, WhatsApp is going to use data like country, language to change the dynamics of its platform and it is now up to the people to decide if their favourite messaging app is worth the hassle anymore.
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First Published:
July 21, 2025, 10:25 IST
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