Trying to message mom on WhatsApp? Expect ads

Published: 3 March 2026

Anton Mous
Journalist

By Shutterstock

WhatsApp users in the EU will now see ads as soon as they open the Updates tab. This means that users all around the world are now offered advertisements in Meta’s chat application.

“Promoted Channels and ads in Status are available globally now, so you’ll likely start seeing them in the Updates tab if you haven’t yet. These features help you find businesses and Channels to connect with right in WhatsApp. Your personal messages are end-to-end encrypted and off-limits,” WhatsApp announced on X.

In June 2025, Meta launched ads in the Updates tab, initially only in selected regions. European users are only seeing the ads now because the Data Protection Commission (DPC), Ireland's privacy and data protection authority, voiced its concerns.

In the announcement, Meta said the new features are built “in the most privacy-oriented way possible,” and emphasized that data sharing between WhatsApp, Instagram, and Facebook will occur only when users have opted in to having their accounts linked.

Furthermore, Meta promised never to sell or share phone numbers or the contents of personal messages, calls, or groups with advertisers.

Nevertheless, the statement immediately raised anxiety among privacy organizations, particularly because Meta said it would use “ad preferences and info” from across users’ Facebook and Instagram accounts, which are linked to WhatsApp.

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Before allowing Meta to display ads on WhatsApp, the DPC wanted to speak with other European privacy regulators to determine whether they had any privacy concerns about the new advertising model.

Apparently, all concerns of Ireland’s data protection authority and other European privacy regulators have been taken away.

From the get-go, Austrian privacy organization noyb wasn’t happy with Meta’s announcement and argued that this was a clear violation of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and Digital Markets Act (DMA).

“Meta is doing exactly the opposite of what EU law requires. The data from its various platforms gets linked, and users are tracked for advertising without any genuine choice. Without freely given consent, linking data and showing personalized advertising is clearly illegal,” Noyb Chairman Max Schrems said in a statement at the time.