WhatsApp Will Show Advertising In Channels And Status

WhatsApp launches a new feature in the Update tab (photo: dock. Meta)

JAKARTA Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced an update for the WhatsApp app. This messaging platform gets two new features on the Update tab, namely subscriptions to Channels and ads on status.

Through its channel, Zuckerberg said that these two latest features are part of the Meta experiment. These two features are added so that users can expand their business so that their revenue and audience increase.

"We started experimenting with two new things on this tab: subscriptions to channels and ads in status. These tools give people and businesses more ways to connect on WhatsApp that separate from your private chats," Zuckerberg said, quoted on Tuesday, June 17.

The channel was first introduced in 2023 as a free feature. After Meta added subscription options, artists, influencers, and business people can now receive monetizations of the exclusive content they share.

Channel owners will earn from the monthly expenses their members pay. It is not yet known how much money WhatsApp users need to spend to join the paid group.

In addition, Meta will start promoting Channels in the Update tab. When opening the Channel Explor page, users will see a Disponsored sign on a specific Channel. This indicates that WhatsApp is advertising the Channel.

WhatsApp also starts displaying ads in Status. When users open a series of Status, they will see advertisements regarding certain products or services. If you tap the Messages button at the bottom of the ad, they can directly contact the owner of the business.

Meski WhatsApp mulai menampilkan ad di platformnya, Meta tetap menjamin keamanan aplikasi tersebut. Zuckerberg menegaskan bahwa pesan pengguna akan tetap terjaga berkat sistem enkripensi yang mereka ketahankan selama bertahun-tahun.

"Your personal message will continue to be encrypted and will not be used to personalize the message," Zuckerberg said.