US tech giant Meta has begun rolling out advertising on WhatsApp in Kenya, marking a major shift for the messaging service that could open new revenue streams and marketing tools for local businesses.
The company said users will start seeing ads within WhatsApp’s ‘Updates’ tab, specifically in Status and Channels. Personal chats, calls and private messages will remain end-to-end encrypted and free of advertising.
‘You’ll start seeing relevant ads in Status and Channels,’ Meta said in a message to WhatsApp users in Kenya.
The rollout follows a global announcement made last June, with early deployments in markets such as India, where WhatsApp plays a central role in daily communication.
Sponsored content will now appear between users’ contacts’ organic Status updates, similar to Stories ads on Instagram, and as promoted Channels within the Updates tab, WhatsApp said.
For businesses, the change introduces a new avenue to reach customers directly within the app. Advertisers can run campaigns in the Status feed to promote products and services, with ads designed to initiate instant conversations.
When a user taps a Status ad, it opens a direct chat with the business. Industry players say this could offer a more conversational, high-engagement alternative to traditional digital advertising on platforms such as Facebook and Instagram, where ads typically redirect users to external websites.
Unlike conventional e-commerce funnels (the customer journey from first interaction to final purchase), WhatsApp allows businesses to complete the entire transaction within the app, reducing drop-off rates associated with external links.
Meta has not disclosed pricing for WhatsApp ads in Kenya, but advertising on its other platforms typically varies by market. In Kenya, Instagram and Facebook Stories ads cost between Sh500 and Sh2,000 per day for small and medium-sized businesses.
Pricing models
The tech giant runs two models: cost-per-click (CPC), where the advertiser pays only when a user clicks the ad, and cost-per-thousand impressions, abbreviated as CPM (cost per mille), which means paying for every 1,000 times an ad is viewed, regardless of interaction.
CPC rates range from Sh10 to Sh50, while CPM ranges between Sh200 and Sh1,000.
WhatsApp has more than 3 billion monthly active users globally and is one of the most widely used social platforms in Kenya, reaching about 54.4 percent of the population, according to data from the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA).
The introduction of ads marks a significant shift for WhatsApp, which has largely operated without traditional advertising since its acquisition by Meta, then Facebook, in 2014. Until then, WhatsApp users were required to pay an annual fee of $1 for an ad-free experience. Meta scrapped the fee shortly after the $19 billion (Sh2.4 trillion at current exchange rates) acquisition.
Since 2018, businesses have relied on WhatsApp Business, a standalone application designed for small business owners to connect with customers. The platform offers free features such as product catalogues, automated replies and broadcast messaging.
It also has paid API (application programming interface) services for larger enterprises, which allow high-volume messaging and integration with customer relationship management (CRM) systems.
The API’s costs range from Sh3,000 to Sh7,000 per month, plus per-message charges depending on message type. Marketing messages are costlier than utility messages, such as those providing order updates and payment alerts, and service messages such as customer care responses.
The introduction of ads is also likely to reignite privacy concerns surrounding Meta’s data practices. The company has faced scrutiny globally over data collection and targeted advertising, particularly in jurisdictions such as the European Union.
Meta maintains that WhatsApp’s core privacy protections remain intact. In the announcement to Kenyans this week, the firm said personal messages, calls, Status updates, shared locations, contacts and group memberships are not used to target ads.
The company said ad personalisation will rely on data such as a user’s country code, age, device information, general location, content engagement and ads interacted with.
Users will be able to manage their ad experience, including viewing recent advertisers, hiding or reporting ads, and controlling which advertisers they see.
Meta also said it is developing a subscription option that would allow users to remove ads from the Status and Channels sections, although the feature has not yet been launched.