WhatsApp Begins Testing Status Ads and Promoted Channels for Select iOS Users

Meta has started rolling out several interesting features on WhatsApp in order to increase monetization on the platform. The features include Status Ads and Promoted Channels on WhatsApp. The features are currently available only to select users running the iOS update 25.20.10.78, according to information from WABetaInfo.

Status Ads:

The Status Ads feature is currently available to selected Business Accounts on WhatsApp. The feature is designed to let businesses showcase paid promotional content between user status updates. The feature will work just like how the ads work on Instagram Stories. In addition, these sponsored statuses will appear alongside personal updates. However, they will be clearly marked as advertisements.

Not just this, WhatsApp will crucially allow users to manage what ads they see on the app. There will be a blocking option that will prevent specific advertisers from showing future content, maintaining a layer of control over the ad experience.

Promoted Channels:

The second feature from Meta dubbed Promoted Channels will focus on improving discoverability for public channels. This means whenever a creator or business will opt to promote their channel, they will get higher placement in the WhatsApp directory. These promotions will also carry a “sponsored” label to distinguish them from organically suggested content.

This addition is expected to help brands, content creators, and organisations reach wider audiences, potentially accelerating their channel growth without relying solely on organic reach.

User Privacy:

Despite introducing these promotional tools, WhatsApp has clarified that user privacy remains one of the most important factor on the platform. The ads and promotions feature will not interfere with private chats. Hence, all advertising content will be confined to public-facing spaces like Status and Channels.

Additionally, WhatsApp has previously tested an ad transparency tool in beta version 2.25.19.15. This allows users to download a report detailing which ads they saw, who the advertisers were, and when they appeared.