Meta, the parent company of WhatsApp, has announced the rollout of new monetisation features aimed at helping creators, businesses, and organisations expand their reach and generate income through the messaging platform’s Updates tab.

In a statement released on Monday, the company unveiled three major tools: Channel Subscriptions, Promoted Channels, and Adverts in Status—marking a significant step in WhatsApp’s ongoing effort to support commercial activity without disrupting private messaging.

“We’ve been talking for years about how to build a business on WhatsApp in a way that doesn’t interrupt personal chats. We believe the updates tab is the right place to introduce that,” Meta said.

Channel Subscriptions will allow users to pay a monthly fee to receive exclusive content from their favourite creators, news outlets, or sports teams, while Promoted Channels will provide a paid visibility boost—enabling WhatsApp to suggest relevant channels based on a user’s interests.

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Meanwhile, Adverts in Status will function similarly to Instagram Stories ads, giving businesses the opportunity to promote products and services through targeted content within WhatsApp’s status feature.

Meta assured users that these updates were designed with privacy as a core focus. All personal messages, calls, and group chats will remain protected by end-to-end encryption.

“To show adverts in status or recommend channels you might care about, we’ll use limited information like your country, language, followed channels, and engagement levels,” the company clarified. “For those who link WhatsApp with Meta’s Accounts Centre, ad preferences and data across platforms will be used—but users’ phone numbers will never be sold or shared with advertisers.”

The new monetisation tools will roll out gradually over the coming months. Channel owners and businesses interested in leveraging these features can access details through WhatsApp Business resources.