WhatsApp leadership said its calls and chat sections will remain ad-free and encrypted
Pivoting from its founding mantra of ad-free messaging, WhatsApp—acquired by Meta in 2014 for $19 billion—is breaking away and will begin showing advertisements in its Updates tab.
Announcing the move at the Cannes Lions advertising industry conference, WhatsApp leadership said its calls and chat sections will remain ad-free and encrypted.
This marks a significant shift for the Meta-owned platform, which boasts over 2 billion users globally, including 1.5 billion daily users. The majority of consumers are from large economies like India and Brazil, while over 100 million are based in the US.
WhatsApp represents an untapped stream of advertising for Meta, which earned nearly all of its $164 billion in 2024 revenue from ads. As part of its monetization strategy, the Mark Zuckerberg company is heavily investing in AI and expanding ad reach across its platforms.
The update will include paid subscriptions for creators, ads promoting channels, and optional data linking with Facebook and Instagram for better targeting. Ads will also consider personal data, such as device language and location.
The move follows backlash to WhatsApp’s 2021 privacy policy update and comes amid ongoing legal challenges in the UK over encryption.