Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) saw its shares rise by 2.8% in pre-market trading following its announcement that advertisements will soon be introduced on WhatsApp—a first for the messaging platform. This marks a major step toward monetizing one of Meta’s most widely used services.
The new ad placements will appear in WhatsApp’s “Updates” tab, which is accessed daily by approximately 1.5 billion users. Alongside this, Meta plans to roll out monetization tools such as channel subscriptions—where users can pay for premium content—promoted channels to enhance discoverability, and ads within the Status section that allow businesses to market their products or services.
Meta made it clear that personal conversations will not be affected. Private chats will remain ad-free and continue to be protected by end-to-end encryption. By confining commercial activity to the Updates tab, the company aims to preserve the user experience in direct messaging.
This development marks a significant change in Meta’s strategy for WhatsApp, a platform that has remained largely untouched by advertising since its $19 billion acquisition in 2014. With its massive global user base, WhatsApp now offers a compelling new channel for Meta to grow its advertising revenue outside of Facebook and Instagram.
The move comes as Meta explores new paths for expansion amid intensifying competition and evolving regulatory scrutiny, particularly around user privacy and data protection.