New WhatsApp product features for users and businesses, focused on security, channels, and AI usage pricing

Meta’s WhatsApp continues its rapid evolution by expanding communication and monetization tools while introducing advanced security upgrades and formalizing AI governance. These developments illustrate Meta’s commitment to balancing innovation, user privacy, and regulatory compliance amid growing scrutiny of AI applications and data protection worldwide.

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Expanding Monetization and Communication Tools for Users and Businesses

WhatsApp has rolled out several key features designed to enhance user engagement and create new revenue streams for creators, brands, and enterprises:

• Global Launch of Promoted Channels and Ads in Status
  Following positive pilot results, WhatsApp now enables:

  • Promoted Channels: Businesses and creators can boost the visibility of their broadcast channels beyond their existing contacts, helping grow audiences without compromising user privacy. This feature allows discovery without resorting to group chats, thus preserving WhatsApp’s private communication ethos.
  • Ads in Status: Mirroring ad models on Instagram and Facebook Stories, WhatsApp’s ephemeral Status feature now supports advertising placements, leveraging high engagement on short-lived content to offer more meaningful ad experiences within the app.

• Business Broadcast Beta for iOS (version 26.7.10.72)
  This beta introduces the ability for businesses to send broadcast messages individually to multiple recipients without forming group chats. This enhances privacy by preventing recipients from seeing each other, enabling more personalized and targeted outreach. Meta foresees this tool benefiting not only commercial enterprises but also community organizations and event coordinators seeking secure mass communication.

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Strengthened Security Protocols to Safeguard User Privacy

In response to increasing cyber threats and regulatory demands, WhatsApp is enhancing its security framework with new features:

• Optional Account Passwords: A highly requested security feature allowing users to add an additional authentication layer, helping to prevent unauthorized access to accounts.
• Advanced Cryptographic Identity Keys: These upgrades reinforce WhatsApp’s end-to-end encryption (E2EE) by strengthening identity verification processes. This helps protect over two billion users from account hijacking and impersonation, effectively creating a “security fortress” around user communications.

These enhancements reaffirm WhatsApp’s prioritization of privacy and security while enabling richer business use cases.

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Formalizing AI Pricing and Governance for Third-Party Providers and Businesses

Amid the growing integration of AI-driven conversational experiences, WhatsApp has introduced a transparent AI pricing policy targeting third-party AI providers and enterprises using the WhatsApp Business API:

• Clear, Tiered Pricing for AI Integration:
  The new framework establishes predictable costs based on AI usage volume and processing demands, designed to:

  • Recover infrastructure costs tied to AI workloads on Meta’s platform.
  • Encourage innovation by providing standardized pricing and usage guidelines.
  • Support responsible AI governance by embedding transparency and user consent mechanisms.

• Implications for Enterprises and AI Providers:
  Businesses employing AI chatbots for customer engagement will now have clarity on expenses, aiding in investment planning and encouraging efficient, privacy-respecting AI deployment.

• Alignment with Global Regulatory Standards:
  The AI pricing and operational rules comply with regional regulations such as India’s user-consent requirements for conversational data sharing and the EU’s mandates on interoperability with vetted third-party AI systems. This ensures WhatsApp’s AI ecosystem remains compliant with emerging global AI governance frameworks.

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Emerging AI Integrations: Testing Meta AI Chat-Analysis Feature

In a significant new development, WhatsApp is beta testing a Meta AI-powered feature that analyzes user chats within the app:

• This experimental tool aims to provide AI-driven chat insights and assistance, potentially enhancing user experience through smarter conversation management or contextual suggestions.
• The feature underscores Meta’s deeper AI integration into WhatsApp’s core messaging service, indicating future possibilities for more intelligent, AI-powered interactions.
• However, it raises important considerations around user privacy, data consent, and transparent AI usage, which Meta will need to address carefully to maintain trust and comply with regulatory expectations.

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Supporting Context: Meta’s AI Infrastructure Investments and Regulatory Landscape

• To underpin these AI-driven advancements and pricing models, Meta recently secured a multi-billion-dollar deal to rent Google AI chips, significantly boosting its capacity to process AI workloads efficiently across its platforms, including WhatsApp.
• Meanwhile, regulatory scrutiny is intensifying globally, with privacy watchdogs in regions such as the EU, India, and the COMESA bloc closely monitoring AI implementations, data protection, and transparency in messaging platforms. WhatsApp’s new policies and features reflect an effort to proactively navigate these challenges.

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Conclusion

WhatsApp’s latest product innovations and AI pricing policies reflect Meta’s strategic vision to evolve the platform into a secure, versatile, and monetizable communication hub in the age of AI. The rollout of Promoted Channels and ads in Status opens fresh revenue avenues, while business broadcast beta strengthens privacy-conscious outreach. Security upgrades fortify trust, and the AI pricing framework formalizes sustainable AI integration for third-party developers and enterprises.

The ongoing beta testing of Meta AI chat-analysis features signals a bold step towards more intelligent, AI-enhanced messaging experiences, albeit with heightened responsibility around privacy and consent.

As WhatsApp scales these capabilities, success will hinge on maintaining a delicate balance between innovation, user privacy, transparent AI governance, and compliance with evolving global regulations — setting a precedent for secure, scalable communication in the increasingly AI-driven digital landscape.