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The news: Meta announced numerous updates to its messaging ad options, with a heavy focus on WhatsApp. Meta is expanding Ads Manager to include WhatsApp campaigns, centralizing multi-campaign management across its platforms. The feature allows businesses to upload subscriber lists to use Advantage+ to optimize ad budgets or manually choose messages for additional placements. Our take: The ongoing potential for divestiture could have significant implications for advertisers that rely on Meta鈥檚 ecosystem鈥攂ut the new features will still make WhatsApp a more appealing option for those that haven鈥檛 considered it as a key ad channel.

The news: WhatsApp will begin showing ads for the first time since Meta鈥檚 2014 acquisition, starting with the Updates tab鈥檚 Status feature. Sponsored search placements and optional paid subscriptions will also be added to WhatsApp Channels. Ads won鈥檛 appear in encrypted chats or groups, and targeting will rely only on minimal metadata unless users opt in to link accounts. Our take: Meta is threading a careful line鈥攎onetizing WhatsApp while keeping privacy promises intact. With over 3 billion global users and deep consumer trust, the platform鈥檚 subtle shift into ads and subscriptions could deliver big returns if Meta avoids sparking user backlash over commercialization.

Meta's antitrust trial over Instagram and WhatsApp deals winds down: But the trial鈥檚 outcome could reshape tech M&A for years to come.

On today鈥檚 podcast episode, we discuss Meta鈥檚 capacity to weather the tariff climate, how Meta plans to redefine advertising, and what happens if it is forced to sell Instagram and WhatsApp. Join Senior Director of Podcasts and host Marcus Johnson, Vice President and Principal Analyst Jasmine Enberg, and Senior Analyst Minda Smiley. Listen everywhere and watch on YouTube and Spotify.

Meta defends past acquisitions in FTC trial: The case could force Instagram and WhatsApp divestitures, disrupting ad buying and reshaping tech merger norms.

Despite soaring profits, it continues layoffs to streamline operations in key divisions like WhatsApp and Instagram.

WhatsApp Business account users will grow by double digits YoY. In 2025, we expect WhatsApp to have 321.2 million business account users worldwide, a 12.7% bump YoY. We expect double-digit growth next year as well, though it is slowing down.

The chats won鈥檛 be encrypted like XChat or WhatsApp. Why it matters: Threads is trying to get out from under Instagram鈥檚 shadow鈥擨nstagram accounts are required for signup, psychologically linking the two for many consumers. But Threads鈥� daily active users (DAUs) aren鈥檛 interacting with the same crowd on Instagram, and many have less than a 50% overlap in connections between the two.

If the court agrees with the FTC, a separate trial could force Meta to divest Instagram and WhatsApp. Looking back: When Meta purchased Instagram in 2012 for $1 billion, the app only had about 30 million users. WhatsApp was considerably bigger when Meta bought it for $22 billion in 2014, per Reuters, with over 450 million users.

Meta embedded AI in hardware products like the Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses as well as in comment- and image-generation features across Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. In April, Meta released optimized versions of its open-source Llama 4 reasoning model.

Facebook (36%) and YouTube (30%) lead the charge in social media news consumption. 19% use Instagram and WhatsApp, and TikTok (16%) outpaces X (12%). Many of those platforms鈥攅specially Facebook, Instagram, and X鈥攈ave loosened content moderation this year, making feeds more vulnerable to misinformation.

On today鈥檚 podcast episode, we discuss if folks will start consuming news on WhatsApp, how people get their news on digital channels, and some interesting generational gaps that exist regarding social media news consumption. Join host Marcus Johnson, along with director of reports editing Rahul Chadha and vice president of media, content, and strategy Henry Powderly for the conversation.

Signal had 70 million active users in 2024, many of whom are former WhatsApp users, per BusinessofApps. But despite its sudden popularity, Signal鈥檚 user base is still far behind competing messaging apps like WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Telegram, WeChat, and Discord. A heated debate on security: The Signalgate incident surfaced how encrypted tools like Signal are used in government communications.

The API expansion creates a compelling advantage for brands already invested in Meta鈥檚 platforms, as advertisers can now incorporate Threads into their existing campaigns alongside Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp without navigating separate systems.

Zooming out: The threat comes at a difficult time for Meta as it heads into an antitrust trial led by the Federal Trade Commission that could force the company to sell Instagram and WhatsApp. Instagram alone generates over half of Meta鈥檚 massive ad revenues, per our forecast. Losing the app would inevitably cause immense damage to Meta鈥檚 bottom line.

Instagram鈥檚 value wanes for publishers: Ad spend and content posting drop as WhatsApp Channels gains traction for direct audience engagement.

Meta will likely lean more on its newer products, including WhatsApp, Threads, and Instagram, to sustain global engagement. What it means for advertisers:. In markets like Japan, Facebook's reduced reach may justify reallocating budget to other Meta properties or rival platforms entirely. Regions still showing stable or growing usage may offer more efficient ROI for social ad campaigns.

The news: Meta鈥檚 AI companions, available on Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp, have engaged in sexually explicit conversations with users identified as minors, per a monthslong investigation by The Wall Street Journal.

The deal integrates UFC with Meta across Meta鈥檚 platforms and products, including Facebook, Instagram, Threads, WhatsApp, Meta AI, Meta Quest, and Meta glasses. The partnership will see Meta branding featured in UFC鈥檚 Octagon ring for 鈥淔ight Night鈥� and pay-per-view events.

In January 2024, Nubank division Nu Mexico partnered with local fintech F茅lix Pago to launch a WhatsApp-based remittance service for its 5.5 million users in Mexico. This partnership caters to the 80.1% of mobile phone owners in Mexico who use WhatsApp. And F茅lix Pago's $2.99 flat fee per transaction undercuts the market average, making it an accessible option. High-yield savings accounts.