Meta introduces ads to Updates tab in WhatsApp, based on user data

Meta has announced it will introduce channel subscriptions, promoted channels, and ads in the WhatsApp Updates tab.

According to WhatsApp’s parent company, about 1.5 billion people worldwide use the Updates tab daily, which shows both Channels and Status updates from popular brands. This popularity makes it the perfect spot to experiment with ads.

Meta is going to do this in three ways. First of all, users can support their favorite brand or channel by subscribing to receive exclusive updates for a monthly fee. This feature is called Channel Subscriptions.

Secondly, Meta wants to help users discover new channels that might look interesting to them. This allows channel admins to increase their channels’ visibility. This is called Promoted Channels.

Lastly, by introducing ads in the Updates tab, users will be able to find new businesses and start a conversation with them about a product the companies are promoting in Status. This is named Ads in Status.

Subscriptions, promotions, and ads will appear only on the Updates tab, away from users’ personal chats. Personal messages, calls, and statuses remain end-to-end encrypted.

However, to display ads in the Updates tab, Meta uses user data, including information about users’ country, city, language, the Channels they follow, and the way they interact with the ads they see. People who have chosen to add WhatsApp to Meta’s Accounts Center, users’ ad preferences and information from across their Meta accounts will also be used.

“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,” Meta writes in a blog post.

Ads in the Updates tab will be rolled out over the next few months.

Austrian privacy organization Noyb isn’t happy with Meta’s announcement and argues that this is a clear violation of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and Digital Markets Act (DMA).

“Meta is doing exactly the opposite of what EU law requires. The data from its various platforms gets linked, and users are tracked for advertising without any genuine choice. Without freely given consent, linking data and showing personalized advertising is clearly illegal,” Noyb Chairman Max Schrems says in a statement.

Schrems adds that Meta has already rolled out the ‘Pay or Okay’ business model on Instagram and Facebook, without effective action by the Irish privacy regulator or the European Commission. “We suspect that Meta will do the same with WhatsApp,” he says.