- Privacy experts raise concerns about Meta’s decision to bring ads to WhatsApp
- Monday, June 16, 2025, whatsapp announced new ad features are set to land in the Updates tab
- In 2023 Meta refused claims that WhatsApp was planning to add in-feed ads on the platform
Update: June 18, 2025, after publication, we updated the copy to add additional comments and clarifications from WhatsApp.
After years of rumors, worries and denials it has finally happened – WhatsApp is officially getting ads.
On Monday, June 16, 2025, Meta announced that it will roll out this new feature over the next several months. However, the great tech giant claims that ads are built “in the most possible privacy-oriented way”, ensuring that your personal messages, calls and groups will not be used to target these ads against you.
It is unnecessary to say that experts in privacy do not buy it and encourage concerned users to look for alternatives.
“The introduction of ads could signal a wider shift away from private messages against monetized, monitored communication,” warns Chief Technology Officer at NordVPN, Marijus Biedis. “Your messages may not remain as private as you think.”
On its side, WhatsApp Techradar ensures that “If you only use WhatsApp to chat with friends and loved ones, there is no change of your experience at all.”
WhatsApp — ads – what we know so far
So WhatsApp gets new ads, but how does this work in practice?
Unlike previous rumors of potential in-feed ads-a plan, which Meta refused in 2023-is WhatsApp ads now set to be locked within its update tab.
The Updates tab, the company said, has 1.5 billion daily users, includes both channels and status. Channels are a list of dedicated interest groups you can participate in while the latter repeats the stories from Instagram. Both channels and status will have the AD function.
A new one Alien channels The feature soon begins to recommend new sponsored channels based on your interests. A new one Ads in status Options also allow companies to market their services and products with targeted advertising among WhatsApp users.
WhatsApp promises that these new features have been built with users’ privacy in mind. Therefore, all personal messages, calls and status are set to remain end-to-end encrypted, which means not even the provider has access to this sensitive info.
“To show ads in status or channels you may be interested in, we will use limited info as your country or city, language, the channels you follow, and how to interact with the ads you see. For people who have chosen to add whatsApp to the accounting center, we will also use your advertisements and info from across your Meta accounts,” stock for ads for advertisements. ”
What the privacy tech industry says
Despite these insurance, the privacy world is not exactly excited about the prospect of bringing data-hungry advertisements to an encrypted messaging app.
Biedis from NordVPN, today’s Techradar’s best VPN recommendation, fears that this step can lead to a dangerous shift in business with private communication.
He said: “When advertising enters a messaging app, it often marks the beginning of deeper data collection. Meta says your chats are private but its business model depends on data-driven surveillance. This is not just about pop-ups; it’s about protecting your privacy.”
NordVPN is certainly not alone in taking a strong attitude against WhatsApp’s ad functions.
Your messages may not remain as private as you think
Marijus Biedis, Nordvpn
As AI, Tech and Privacy Expert Luiza Jarovsky pointed out, personalized ads are unlikely to be a feature that WhatsApp users want or enjoy watching in a private app.
“Either Meta is desperate for several sources of income or they just don’t care. It is against common sense to introduce personalized ads in a private messaging environment,” she wrote in a tweet, warning that “we are likely to see hundreds of creepy examples.”
The Austria-based digital group NOYB has then questioned the legality of such a plan in the EU-Under GDPR and DMA’s freely given consent determination and now threaten Meta with a legal complaint.
“Without freely given consent, it is clearly illegal to associate data and display personal advertising.
Techradar approached WhatsApp for clarification, and a spokesman ensured that most WhatsApp users will see no difference.
“If you only use WhatsApp to chat with friends and loved ones, there is no change in your experience at all. We’ve talked about our plans to build a business that doesn’t interrupt your personal chat for years and we think the Updates tab is the right place for these new features to work,” WhatsApp told Techradar in a statement.
WhatsApp also claims that NOYS’s statement is inaccurate. “It ignores the careful steps we have taken to protect the privacy of people’s messages and put ads on a separate tab. We are convinced that our plan is in line with legal demands worldwide, including the EU.”
Use signal. We promise, no ai mess, no surveillance ads – no matter what the rest of the industry does. We lead, we are not following pic.twitter.com/11nakmbllwJune 17, 2025
Nevertheless, experts suggest that concerned users should start looking for more private alternatives.
“If you’re uncomfortable with being tracked, you have opportunities,” Biedis said. “Privacy should not be treated as a luxury. It should be baseline.”
If you want to ditch whatsapp, I recommend checking either signal, session or threema.
All three messaging apps come with standard-to-end encryption protection across all your messages and calls without ads. Unlike WhatsApp, these services also encrypt metadata that promise a truly tracer -free and private experience.
