A careful introduction of ads on the social media channel of WhatsApp

The announcement marks a major shift in WhatsApp’s monetisation strategy. WhatsApp has famously operated without advertisements, relying instead on paid enterprise communication (WhatsApp for Business/ WhatsApp APIs). Now, Meta is positioning the Updates tab (like Instagram’s Stories) as the starting point for WhatsApp’s entry into the digital advertising arena. The decision was framed carefully: ads will remain separate from private, end-to-end encrypted chats—a measure aimed at preserving user trust.

Financial markets applaud Meta’s move

Investors were quick to endorse this potential. Meta’s stock price rose by nearly 3% in the immediate aftermath of the announcement, with analysts projecting that WhatsApp advertising could generate more than $10 billion annually by 2028, adding around $5 billion in operating profit. This fresh revenue stream is seen as a key lever for Meta’s long-term growth, particularly as its family of apps seeks new avenues for commercialisation beyond Facebook, that shows signs of maturity.

From an industry perspective, the move is being seen as a strategic breakthrough. Oppenheimer analyst Jason Helfstein noted that no tech company has yet successfully built a major advertising business within a messaging platform. If Meta can provide convincing performance data—showing attribution, conversion, and user engagement—it could unlock a powerful new revenue stream, complementing its success on Instagram and Facebook.

In the coming months, the industry will be watching closely. If Meta can successfully thread the needle—delivering measurable advertising returns without alienating its user base—it may set a precedent for other messaging platforms considering similar moves. If not, the backlash seen this week could be just the beginning.”

WhatsApp is not alone –messaging platforms have embraced ads

This move is well aligned with broader trends. As messaging platforms like Discord and Reddit have introduce more advertising features, Meta’s decision to monetise WhatsApp’s Status tab seems both inevitable and timely.

On Discord, the introduction of “Quests” marked a quiet but significant step into advertising. These sponsored, in-game tasks encourage users to complete objectives for rewards, with brands and game publishers funding the experience. Discord also offers premium server subscriptions and sells branded emojis and stickers—lightly commercial tools that integrate into user expression without disrupting the platform’s core communication flow. Additionally, the platform highlights “partnered” servers in its Discovery section, giving brands more visibility without pushing ads directly into private chats.

 

Meanwhile, Reddit has rapidly expanded its ad offerings. Promoted posts and videos now appear across user-feeds and subreddit pages. More recently, Reddit launched Dynamic Product Ads (DPAs)—targeted shopping ads based on user behaviour—and Conversation Placement Ads, which embed promotions into the heart of its popular comment threads. Its Takeover Ads occupy premium homepage real estate for maximum visibility during product launches, while vertical video ads are now seamlessly integrated into mobile browsing. These efforts have transformed Reddit into a serious player in digital advertising while maintaining its community-driven appeal.

Social media platforms linked to advertising-based model are joining the person to person messaging features. See our coverage of X relaunching its direct messaging solution.

What’s clear is that messaging platforms globally are entering a new phase. Once considered off-limits to advertisers, these private communication tools are being repurposed as vehicles for brand interaction and revenue growth. Discord and Reddit have demonstrated that commercial features can be introduced carefully, without alienating core users. Now WhatsApp is betting that its own audience—accustomed to free, ad-free messaging—will accept these changes, so long as the core promise of secure, private communication remains unbroken.

Negative reactions on privacy and user concerns.

As expected, not all stakeholders are supportive the move. Privacy advocates, especially in Europe, have raised alarms over the potential implications for data usage and consent under GDPR and the Digital Markets Act. WhatsApp insists that no personal message data will be used to target ads and that the Status feature—separate from private chat—offers a safe space for experimentation. Whether this reassurance satisfies regulators and privacy-conscious users remains to be seen.

In a separate report from Politico, Meta was reported to have communicate to the Irish Privacy regulator that it will not launch in EU until 2026. Speaking to reporters the day after the announcement , the Irish Data Protection Commission said that it has been told by WhatsApp that its advertising solution will not be launched in the EU until 2026 – Ireland is the responsible country for enforcing the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation given Meta’s European office.

Users lit up social media channels with frustration, with some commentators calling this the “dumbest idea ever” and threatening to migrate to alternative platforms such as Telegram or Signal. Reddit threads and user forums were flooded with complaints that Meta was eroding the very simplicity and privacy ethos that made WhatsApp appealing in the first place. Famously WhatsApp co-founder and former CEO, Jan Koum, had been very vocal about his strong opposition to advertising on WhatsApp.

Some users reported concerns over the potential misuse of personal data. The possibility of advertising creeping into other parts of the app have sparked renewed anxiety over Meta’s handling of privacy. These fears may be overblown, as WhatsApp Status is an underused feature in the overall WhatsApp offering, and that the services have remained free to users for many years.  For most monetisation will have little practical impact on daily messaging behaviour. But this reassurance has done little to quell the scepticism among privacy-focused users.

Regulators are also watching closely. European privacy watchdogs, particularly the Vienna-based NGO noyb (None of Your Business), have warned that Meta’s approach could violate the EU’s GDPR and the newly enacted Digital Markets Act. These bodies are especially concerned about how WhatsApp might link user activity data across services to deliver these ads, raising the risk of forced consent models that have already come under legal scrutiny in Europe.

For Mobile Network Operators (MNOs), Google, and Apple, the evolving messaging landscape presents a multifaceted opportunity for brands across SMS, RCS, and emerging Network APIs. As carriers increasingly push the robust, secure capabilities of Network APIs for seamless user verification, and Google and Apple continue to drive RCS adoption through their respective operating systems, a significant strategic opening is emerging. This is particularly salient should Meta’s WhatsApp Ads strategy falter or fail to meet brand expectations for engagement and ROI. Such a scenario would create a massive imperative for brands to diversify their rich messaging and authentication channels, driving them towards the controlled, secure, and potentially more transparent environments offered by the MNO-backed SMS/Network API infrastructure and the RCS ecosystem championed by Google and Apple. This convergence represents a colossal opportunity for these major players to not only solidify their foundational role in enterprise communications but also to capture substantial new revenue streams and brand traffic that might otherwise reside solely within independent OTT platforms

An opportunity for MNOs?

For Mobile Network Operators (MNOs), as well as Google and Apple, the evolving messaging landscape presents a complex but significant opportunity. If Meta’s advertising strategy within WhatsApp proves successful, similar monetisation features could be introduced into operator-controlled channels—such as SMS, RCS, or even Apple’s iMessage inbox.

Conversely, if WhatsApp’s ad model fails to meet brand expectations—due to performance, trust, or user resistance—telco-led messaging ecosystems could stand to benefit. This would create fresh impetus for brands to diversify their rich messaging and customer authentication strategies, favouring the controlled, secure, and potentially more transparent environments offered by MNO-backed SMS, network APIs, and the RCS frameworks promoted by Google and Apple. Such a shift would represent a substantial opportunity for operators and platform providers to not only reinforce their strategic role in enterprise communications but also capture valuable new revenue streams and brand engagement that might otherwise be confined to independent OTT platforms.

Not the only monetisation strategy – WhatsApp Business

However, WhatsApp’s commercial strategy extends beyond display ads. The WhatsApp Business API—launched in 2018—has become a cornerstone of the app’s monetisation. Through this platform, businesses pay to send messages to customers after an initial free threshold, and usage has grown sharply across sectors such as e-commerce, customer service, and financial services. In 2024 alone, WhatsApp generated approximately $1.8 billion in revenue from these business services. This revenue stream is projected to rise sharply as brands deepen their use of the platform for conversational commerce, lead generation, and customer engagement. Recent changes in pricing shows a very aggressive move from WhatsApp in the market, looking to replace SMS business messaging – a market worth from 30 to 60 million a year according to industry analysts.

WhatsApp Business, the enterprise-focused sister app, also shows strong growth—reporting around 764 million MAUs and over 576 million daily active users by late 2024.

As Meta and its peers press forward, the global messaging landscape is being redrawn—not just as a space for personal connection, but also as a frontier for the next wave of digital commerce.

WhatsApp stats

As of early 2025, WhatsApp boasts approximately 2.95 billion global monthly active users. It remains the world’s most widely-used messaging platform, with nearly 3 billion users representing about 36% of the world’s population—with projections suggesting it will reach 3.14 billion by the end of the 2025. Daily, users exchange upwards of 140 billion messages—a jump from 100 billion per day in 2020. The average user spends around 30 minutes per day on the app, totalling roughly 16–20 hours per month. Regionally, India leads with over 535 million users, followed by Brazil (~148 million), Indonesia (~112 million), and the US at around 98–100 million monthly actives.

MEF’s view: the messaging industry could change

In the coming months, the industry will be watching closely. If Meta can successfully thread the needle—delivering measurable advertising returns without alienating its user base—it may set a precedent for other messaging platforms considering similar moves. If not, the backlash seen this week could be just the beginning.

For MEF members—whether mobile operators, CPaaS providers, messaging aggregators, or enterprise brands—this signals both opportunity and caution. On one hand, WhatsApp’s move validates the broader potential of messaging ecosystems as scalable environments for brand engagement and monetisation— including traditional SMS, MMS, and RCS channels. This opens new possibilities for campaign-based communication, conversational commerce, and customer service within apps that billions of consumers use daily.

MEF CEO