Here’s How You Can Control Ads on WhatsApp Status and Channels

WhatsApp is introducing a new feature that brings ads to the Status and Channels sections. This update helps businesses and channel owners promote their products and services more effectively. Ads will now appear in the Updates tab under Status and the channel directory.

However, WhatsApp is also focusing heavily on user privacy and control. The ads will be shown using minimal and non-personal information, such as your general location (like city or country), app language, and the channels you follow. WhatsApp ensures that your messages, calls, and status updates remain private and fully protected with end-to-end encryption.

Here’s How You Can Control Ads on WhatsApp Status and Channels

To give users even more control, WhatsApp is also working on a new Ad Preferences feature. This will let users manage how ads appear in their app and even allow them to hide ads from specific advertisers. This feature was discovered in the latest WhatsApp beta update for Android (version 2.25.19.14) and will likely roll out in a future version.

Once the feature is live, you’ll be able to access it in two places:

• The Updates tab
• WhatsApp’s main settings menu

From there, users can view a list of all the ads they’ve seen recently in both Status and Channels. Each ad will also show the date it was viewed. This makes it easy for users to track their ad history, find promotions they liked, or block content they don’t want to see again.

There will also be a section showing a list of advertisers whose ads have appeared in your feed. You can choose to hide ads from any advertiser permanently. If you change your mind later, you’ll be able to reverse that decision at any time, making the control flexible and user-friendly.

See Also: WhatsApp Beta Update Adds Fun Tools to Text Status – Here’s What’s New

WhatsApp also makes it very clear that no private data will be used to show ads. All such communication remains completely encrypted and out of reach of advertising systems. Only you and the person you’re talking to can access that content.

For users who have connected their WhatsApp to Meta’s Accounts Centre, some extra data (like ad preferences from Facebook or Instagram) may be used to improve ad relevance. But this is completely optional. The connection is off by default, and you can disable it anytime.

Importantly, WhatsApp has stated that it does not sell or share your phone number with advertisers. This move reflects the platform’s continued commitment to user privacy, even as it starts showing more commercial content.

With this new feature, WhatsApp is aiming to strike a balance between business promotion and user satisfaction. By letting people review and control what ads they see, the company hopes to make advertising feel less invasive and more relevant.

This ad management feature is still in development. Once it’s ready for release, we’ll share more updates. Stay tuned!