WhatsApp ads in Status and promoted channels

This guide is built from Ads in Status and Channels and Ads built with privacy in mind (WhatsApp Business), Meta's announcement Helping You Find More Channels and Businesses on WhatsApp, and the Marketing API pages Ads in WhatsApp Status and Create ad creatives with WhatsApp identity. For messaging customers on WhatsApp (the Business app, the Platform, templates and message pricing), see our WhatsApp Business guide.

Where WhatsApp ads appear

Meta announced ads in Status, promoted channels and channel subscriptions in June 2025, and said "Subscriptions, promotions and ads will appear only on the Updates tab, away from your personal chats." WhatsApp's business page puts the line the same way: "personal messages, calls and statuses are end-to-end encrypted and cannot be used to show ads."

• No ads in chats: not in personal chats, group chats or calls.
• Status: ads between the Status updates people view.
• Channels: promoted channels in the channel directory.

Meta said at launch: "We'll be rolling this out slowly over the next several months". You may not see the ads in your own app yet.

Ads in Status

Status is WhatsApp's 24-hour stories feature. WhatsApp describes the ads simply: "Ads in WhatsApp Status appear to people between their organic Status content." Meta's documentation adds that Statuses are single vertical images or videos with a 9:16 aspect ratio, so plan vertical creative.

When someone taps a Status ad, WhatsApp says they can be sent to:

• A WhatsApp chat with your business: "When people click on your ad, they are taken directly into a WhatsApp chat with your business."
• Your website, such as a product or landing page.
• Your app, which WhatsApp's business page still marked as coming soon; Meta's API documentation already lists app ads.

Ads that open a chat lead into normal business messaging, so the rules in our WhatsApp Business guide (opt-in, the 24-hour window, templates) apply to what happens next.

Promoted channels

Channels are one-way broadcasts from people, brands and organisations. WhatsApp says "Promoted channel ads help your business get discovered by boosting your channel in the directory and making it easy for people to find content that's right for them." Meta's announcement calls it the first way for "channel admins" to "increase their channels' visibility."

A promoted channel brings followers rather than a chat or a click: once people follow, they see your channel updates in the Updates tab. Channel subscriptions, launched alongside, are a separate feature in which followers pay a channel a monthly fee for exclusive updates; they are not an ad product.

Buying Status ads in Ads Manager

There is no separate WhatsApp ads tool. WhatsApp's page says you can "Seamlessly extend your Meta ad campaigns to WhatsApp Status", and its Create an ad button leads to Meta Ads Manager. WhatsApp Status is a placement, next to Instagram Stories.

• Instagram Stories goes with it: Meta's documentation says the ad set "must include both the whatsapp publisher platform with the status position and the instagram publisher platform with the story position".
• Check effective placements: with some settings Status is dropped without an error. Meta warns that a campaign "can therefore be created successfully but remain ineligible for delivery on Status."
• Prices: none of these pages publish a price for Status ads; you set a budget as for any Meta campaign.

How placements work across Meta is in our Meta ads placements guide, and 9:16 sizes in our Meta ads specs guide.

Objectives and destinations

Meta's Ads in WhatsApp Status page lists six objectives: Awareness, Traffic, Engagement, Leads, Sales and App promotion. It names the destinations: "Supported destinations include WhatsApp chat, website, and Instant Forms." Points worth knowing:

• Chat ads: conversations are an optimization goal for Traffic, Engagement, Leads and Sales.
• Website ads without WhatsApp Business: "A WhatsApp Business Account (WABA) is not required for the website destination."
• Lead forms: Instant Forms open inside WhatsApp, with the More volume form type only.
• Value optimization: needs the Website conversion location and the standard Purchase event from Meta Pixel or Conversions API; custom conversions are not supported.

Which WhatsApp profile the ad shows

The ad shows a business name and picture. Meta's identity documentation says this identity "controls the profile name and image that appear on the Status ad." It can be your Facebook Page, a WhatsApp number linked to the Page, or a number connected through a WhatsApp Business Account. If you choose none, "the Facebook Page identity is used by default." Use the WhatsApp profile customers already chat with, so the chat opens with the business they expect.

What is not supported

From Meta's documentation:

• Formats: single image, single video and carousel (up to 10 cards). "Collection and flexible format ads are not supported."
• Special ad categories: finance, employment, housing, and social issues, elections or politics are not eligible.
• Sensitive verticals: pharma, healthcare and GSI are excluded from Status delivery.
• Tools: "A/B testing, Dynamic Creative Optimization (DCO), and Reach and Frequency buying are not compatible with WhatsApp Status." Advantage+ creative tools are not available either.

Targeting and the data WhatsApp uses

You target Status ads with normal Meta targeting, but WhatsApp limits the data behind them. Its privacy page lists what it relies on:

• Basic account information, "Such as country code and age (where applicable)".
• Device information such as language setting.
• General, not precise, location, like city or country.
• Status and Channels activity, such as channels people follow and how they interact with ads.
• Activity on Meta's other apps, only for people who added WhatsApp to Accounts Center, which is optional and "off by default".

Meta's announcement adds: "We will never sell or share your phone number to advertisers." WhatsApp also lacks age information for some users. Meta's documentation says people whose age is unknown may be included in a Status audience with default age targeting; you can exclude them in the ad set, and ads must be suitable for all ages to reach them.

Where Status ads are available

Meta's documentation states: "At this time, ads in Status are available globally, except in the EU, UK, Iran, Cuba, Syria, Russia, and North Korea." If you sell in Europe, Status cannot reach those customers yet; your Instagram Stories placement still can.

How we would test Status ads

This is our own view, not Meta's or WhatsApp's guidance:

• Start with chat ads only if someone can answer WhatsApp quickly; an unanswered chat costs more than a missed click.
• Make one 9:16 creative that works for both Status and Instagram Stories, since both placements run together.
• Check the effective placements after launch and the placement breakdown after a week, to be sure Status actually delivered.
• Try promoted channels only if you already post useful channel updates; promotion brings followers, not sales by itself.

If you want help with Meta or WhatsApp campaigns, see our services.

Frequently asked questions

Where do ads show on WhatsApp?

Only in the Updates tab: between Status updates, and as promoted channels in the channel directory. WhatsApp shows no ads in personal chats, groups or calls.

How do I create a WhatsApp Status ad?

In Meta Ads Manager: create a campaign and keep the WhatsApp Status placement, which runs together with Instagram Stories. People who tap can go to a WhatsApp chat, your website, an Instant Form or an app.

How much do WhatsApp Status ads cost?

WhatsApp and Meta publish no set price for them. They are bought with a budget like other Meta ads, and conversations that follow fall under WhatsApp's business messaging rules.

Can I run WhatsApp Status ads in Europe?

Not yet. Meta's documentation lists the EU and UK among the places where ads in Status are not available.

Do I need WhatsApp Business to run Status ads?

Not for ads that send people to a website: Meta says a WhatsApp Business Account is not required for that destination. Chat ads need a WhatsApp number for people to message.

Related guides: WhatsApp Business for customers, Meta ads placements, Meta ads specs and Threads ads. To plan a campaign with us, see our services.