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Meta is shaking up WhatsApp with a slate of monetization and discovery features that mirror strategies used by rivals like Telegram and Messenger. The messaging giant has officially introduced ads, channel subscriptions, and promoted discovery tools—but promises they’ll be kept away from your private chats.
In a company blog post released earlier this month, WhatsApp detailed its latest updates to the “Updates” tab, which hosts Status (think Instagram Stories) and Channels. These changes include:
- Ads in Status: Businesses can now place ads inside the Status section. These are the first paid promotions appearing on WhatsApp, and they’re limited to the Updates tab to maintain privacy. According to TechCrunch, Meta will not use personal messages or contact lists to target these ads—only general signals like language and location.
- Channel Subscriptions: Select channel creators can now charge a monthly fee to offer exclusive content. This is similar to Telegram’s Premium subscription model and aims to give influencers and publishers a way to monetize their followers directly on WhatsApp.
- Promoted Channels: Channel owners can pay to have their channels featured in the new discovery section of the directory. As reported by Business Today, these promotions will show up alongside algorithmic recommendations to help users find new content.
The app also rolled out a more structured Channels directory, letting users explore content sorted by categories like News, Sports, and Entertainment—similar to Telegram’s channel lists or Discord’s servers.
Catching Up to the Competition
WhatsApp’s new strategy borrows heavily from competitors. Telegram, for instance, offers a $4.99/month Premium tier and has already introduced sponsored messages in public channels, with revenue sharing for creators. Meanwhile, Signal remains ad-free and staunchly nonprofit, focusing on encrypted messaging with no monetization features.
Meta’s other platforms, such as Facebook Messenger, already integrate ads and business tools but have yet to roll out in-app subscriptions like WhatsApp now has.
With over 2 billion users globally, WhatsApp is clearly positioning itself not just as a messaging tool, but as a content and creator platform—a pivot reminiscent of the strategies behind TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube.
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