WhatsApp has announced a suite of new features designed to enhance its Updates tab home to Channels and Status aiming to support creators, businesses, and organizations while keeping user privacy at the core.
In a blog post released today, the messaging platform revealed its intent to make the Updates tab a dynamic space for discovery, now actively used by over 1.5 billion people daily. The changes are part of a broader effort to build a more engaging experience for users who rely on Channels for content and communication beyond personal chats.
Key Features Rolling Out:
- Channel Subscriptions: Users can now subscribe to their favorite Channels for a monthly fee in exchange for access to exclusive content. This monetization option offers a new revenue stream for content creators and organizations.
- Promoted Channels: WhatsApp is introducing a feature to boost visibility for Channels through directory-based promotion. Admins can now grow their audience by promoting their Channels to users based on interests and search behavior.
- Status Ads: Businesses and Channels will now be able to place paid promotions in the Status section. These ads will make it easier for users to engage directly with a product or service via WhatsApp, merging discovery with instant conversation.
Importantly, these updates will only appear in the Updates tab and will not affect personal chats, ensuring that users who primarily use WhatsApp for messaging will not see any changes in their core experience.
Privacy-First Approach
In line with WhatsApp’s longstanding commitment to privacy, the company emphasized that personal messages, calls, and statuses remain end-to-end encrypted. “No one—not even us—can see or hear them,” the platform reiterated in its statement.
WhatsApp also shared technical documentation and in-app visuals showing how the new features will be integrated, reinforcing transparency around how user data is handled.
As WhatsApp continues to evolve into a broader communication platform, today’s updates represent a strategic shift towards monetization and creator support, all while maintaining the core values of privacy and user trust.
