Expanding the Business Model
In a statement released on Monday, Meta confirmed that the Updates tab, which currently hosts both "Status" and "Channels," will now support Channel Subscriptions for exclusive content, Promoted Channels for enhanced discoverability, and Ads in Status for increased business visibility.
"We’ve been talking for years about how to build a business on WhatsApp in a way that doesn’t interrupt personal chats. We believe the Updates tab is the right place to introduce that," Meta stated, indicating a strategic approach to integrating commercial activities without compromising the platform's core private messaging experience.
Leveraging a Massive User Base
With over 1.5 billion people daily engaging with the Updates tab to view friends’ Status updates or follow creators and public figures via Channels, Meta recognizes a substantial opportunity to introduce business-friendly tools. This immense daily engagement provides a fertile ground for new monetization avenues.
Explaining the new functionalities:
- Channel Subscriptions: This feature will allow WhatsApp users to subscribe to their preferred channels—be it news outlets, individual creators, or sports teams—and receive exclusive content for a monthly fee. This opens a direct revenue stream for content providers.
- Promoted Channels: WhatsApp will begin suggesting new Channels to users based on their interests. This marks the first paid tool for creators and businesses to significantly boost their visibility and grow their audience within the app.
- Ads in Status: Similar to Instagram Stories, businesses will now be able to place targeted advertisements within the Status feature. This enables users to discover new products or services and engage in direct chats with advertisers, streamlining the customer acquisition process.
Prioritizing User Privacy
Despite the push for monetization, Meta has strongly emphasized that these new features are built with WhatsApp’s fundamental commitment to user privacy intact. The company assured users: "Your personal messages, calls, and groups remain end-to-end encrypted, and that includes your Status updates. We’ll never sell or share your phone number with advertisers."
Meta further clarified its approach to data usage for advertising: "To show ads in Status or Channels you might care about, we’ll use limited info like your country or city, language, the Channels you’re following, and how you interact with the ads you see." For users who have linked WhatsApp to Accounts Center, ad preferences and information from across their Meta accounts will also be utilized. The company reiterated its firm stance: "We will never sell or share your phone number to advertisers. Your personal messages, calls, and groups you are in will not be used to determine the ads you may see."
The gradual rollout of these new features is expected over the coming months. Channel administrators and businesses eager to leverage these capabilities can access more detailed information through official WhatsApp Business resources.