WhatsApp Clarifies How Ads Will Work in Status and Channels

WhatsApp has announced that advertisements will appear only in the Status and Channels sections of the app and will not be shown in personal chats or calls. The feature is being rolled out gradually and may not yet be available in all regions.

The company said that personal messages, voice and video calls, and status updates will continue to be protected by end-to-end encryption. It also confirmed that users` private conversations, shared locations, contacts and group memberships will not be used to personalize ads.

Instead, ads will be shown based on limited information, including a user`s country code, device language, general location, channels they follow, content they engage with, and interactions with ads in Status and Channels.

Users who link WhatsApp to Meta`s Accounts Center may also have their ad preferences applied across Meta platforms, allowing information from connected accounts to influence the ads they see.

WhatsApp stated that phone numbers and other personal information are not shared with Meta for advertising purposes. The company says user information is anonymized before being used to deliver relevant advertisements.

Users will have control over their ad experience. They can hide or report ads, view why a specific ad is being shown, and manage their advertising preferences through the app or Accounts Center if their accounts are linked.

According to WhatsApp, the new advertising model is designed to keep personal messaging private while introducing ads only in dedicated sections of the app.