WhatsApp Rolling Out Status Ads and Promoted Channels in Latest Android Beta: Report

WhatsApp for Android's latest beta is reportedly rolling out the Status Ads and Promoted Channels features, which were first announced by Meta on June 17. As per a WhatsApp beta tracker, the latest beta version of the app is said to allow business account users or creators to post sponsored content in the Status section of the app, in turn helping them promote their businesses. 

WhatsApp Public Beta Gets Status Ads and Promoted Channels

According to a report by WABetainfo, WhatsApp is rolling out the beta version 2.25.21.11 of its Android app to select testers with two new features. These features are said to be Status Ads and Promoted Channels. After being announced by the company on June 17, the Ads in Status and Promoted Channel functionalities are now publicly available to beta testers.

The new WhatsApp beta update will reportedly allow businesses to gain traction faster
Photo Credit: WABetainfo

The report provides details regarding the two new features. First is reportedly Status Ads, which will allow businesses to advertise their content in the Status section. These ads would appear between status updates of a user's contacts, however, they would be flagged as sponsored content, the report added. It is said to show users ads in the same fashion as they view the statuses of individuals who are not businesses. It will reportedly also allow WhatsApp users to block advertisers if they wish to, preventing them from showing up again.

Second is said to be Promoted Channels, which reportedly function as Status Ads do, but would focus on making public channels more visible. When a business promotes the channel, it would be highlighted in the directory, potentially increasing its reach, the report added. Creators, brands, and other business account holders are said to gain traction faster than they would organically. There is said to be a small label attached to such promoted channels to mark them as sponsored. The report claims that the two new features will not hamper the privacy of WhatsApp users, while still allowing businesses to grow.

As part of its WhatsApp beta 2.25.19.15 for Android update, the company had earlier reportedly started rolling out a feature for beta testers that allows users to generate detailed downloadable reports with information about the ads they have viewed in the Status and Channels sections. It is said to also offer information regarding the advertisers and the particular dates on which the ads were shown to the users.