Will Meta’s Decision to Bring Ads to WhatsApp Deter Users?

WhatsApp, the world’s most popular instant messaging app, has announced its plans to introduce three new advertising features to its service.

The platform — which claims to have more than 1.5 billion users — is planning for advertisements to become an integral part of its digital infrastructure going forward.

But WhatsApp has stressed that new adverts will not appear in the same place that users’ messages do.

Furthermore, WhatsApp’s end-to-end encryption will ensure that the content of users’ messages will not determine how they are advertised to.

Instead, the platform will pull from specific location data, users’ language preferences and the way users interact with adverts on Instagram or Facebook, Meta’s other flagship applications.

Where will WhatsApp’s new adverts appear?

Rather than disrupting the natural flow of messaging, WhatsApp’s new advertisements will appear in the ‘Updates’ section of the app.

But how will these three new advertising features work?

Currently, WhatsApp has a ‘business channels’ feature, which allows companies to share updates and news with big audiences of followers. From now on, these businesses will be able to advertise to users through their business channels.

Companies will also now be able to charge subscription fees through WhatsApp. By subscribing, users will be able to access premium content through their business channels.

WhatsApp plans to apply a 10% commission structure to these subscriptions. WhatsApp also says it might apply additional charges to businesses for this service, depending on their size.

Lastly, businesses will now have the ability to create adverts in the form of ‘status updates’, which function in the same way as Instagram Stories.

How will users respond to WhatsApp’s new adverts?

Until now, WhatsApp has been a difficult product for Meta to monetise, despite its huge reach.

It has always been free for everyday users, but, in recent years, Meta has started to place focus on the service that WhatsApp can offer business users.

Since 2023, business channels have brought in revenue by allowing companies to communicate with users, but these latest changes will take that to the next level.

But while these adverts will give WhatsApp’s revenues a boost, social media experts believe that there are risks to the strategy.

Independent social media consultant Matt Navarra told the BBC that markets in the UK and Europe have little appetite for advertising, especially when it comes to applications that provide utility rather than entertainment.

"Any perception that the app is becoming noisy or Facebook-ified will spark backlash," he says.

When it comes to WhatsApp’s growing similarities with Meta’s other social networks, the leadership team sees things differently.

“Obviously there’s overlap,” explains Will Cathcart, Head of WhatsApp.

“We have stories on Instagram and stories on WhatsApp, and we now have a way for businesses to promote themselves in both, and we think that’s a good thing.”

What WhatsApp’s decision says about social media

According to Matt, WhatsApp’s new features speak to some emerging patterns in the broader social media landscape.

“The feed is dying,” he says, “public sharing is down, people are retreating into DMs and Stories in small groups.”

“Meta is trying to turn WhatsApp into a platform without users realising it and if they move too fast or it starts to feel like another ad network, people might disengage or maybe worse, distrust the app.”

Elsewhere, analysts are viewing Meta’s decision as a move that was inevitable.

“The original WhatsApp promise? Privacy and purity,” says Elliot Grossbard, Founder of Growthlistic”

“The 2025 reality? Eyeballs need monetisation.”

With the digital landscape becoming so saturated with advertisements, the fear for WhatsApp is this decision could see ad-fatigued users retreat to more basic forms of messaging.

“WhatsApp has long touted itself as the more private web-based messaging option,” explains Connor Beckett McInerney, Social Media Manager at Ars Technica. 

“The platform’s foray could skew that reputation as the company attempts to balance the needs of users and advertisers.”

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