India, June 16 -- Meta has quietly launched advertisements within WhatsApp's "Updates" tab, using the Status feature akin to Instagram Stories to display sponsored content alongside friends' disappearing posts.
Beginning this week, businesses can place ads in Status feeds without impinging on private conversations or accessing encrypted messages.
Rather than mining chat data, Meta will target ads based on limited signals: users' country or city, language settings, followed Channels, and previous ad interactions.
Those who have linked their WhatsApp accounts to Facebook or Instagram may see slightly more personalized promotions drawn from their broader Meta activity. Crucially, Meta pledges never to share phone numbers with advertisers.
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