Video ads by channel / WhatsApp Status
Video ads for WhatsApp Status.
A status that feels posted, not broadcast, built to the Stories spec it rides with, and an ending the chat can pick up.
The medium
WhatsApp Status ads sit in the Updates tab, between the photos and clips people's contacts post, never in the chats themselves. WhatsApp says the tab is used by 1.5 billion people a day, and that ads there are chosen with limited information, such as country or city, language, the channels a person follows and how they interact with ads, while personal messages, calls and groups are not used.
It cannot be bought alone. Meta's developer documentation says Status runs only when Instagram Stories is also selected, and that A/B testing, dynamic creative and reach and frequency buying do not work with it. A tap opens a WhatsApp chat with the business, which is why it matters most in chat-first markets such as India, Brazil, Indonesia and the Gulf; the placement is listed as global except the EU, the UK, Iran, Cuba, Syria, Russia and North Korea.
Finance, employment, housing, political, pharmaceutical and healthcare advertisers are excluded from Status delivery.
The specs
Quoted from the platforms' own pages. The source and the date each was read are under the table.
| Placement | Ratio | Resolution and file | Length | Sound and captions | Safe zone and rules |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ads in WhatsApp Status (Marketing API) | 9:16 | Single image, single video or a carousel of up to 10 cards; no collection or flexible formats; no pixel size published | Organic statuses run up to 60 minutes; launch coverage reported ad videos of up to 30 seconds (trade press) | Not stated | Only when Instagram Stories is also selected; no standalone Status campaigns; destination a WhatsApp chat or a website |
| Instagram Stories video (the companion placement, same creative) | 9:16 | 1440 x 2560 recommended; MP4, MOV or GIF; up to 4 GB | 1 second to 60 minutes | Sound and captions optional but recommended | About 14 percent at the top, 35 at the bottom and 6 at each side kept free of text and logos |
| Click-to-WhatsApp (chat destination) | n/a | A Facebook Page with a linked WhatsApp number | n/a | A default greeting asking for more information, editable; optional ice breakers | Billed on impressions; set the WhatsApp identity on the creative, or the Page identity shows and some ads may not deliver |
| Eligibility and markets (Marketing API) | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | Finance, employment, housing and social issue or political ads not eligible; pharma, healthcare and GSI excluded; available globally except the EU, UK, Iran, Cuba, Syria, Russia and North Korea |
- Meta Marketing API, ads in WhatsApp Status, read October 27, 2026
- Meta Ads Guide, Instagram Stories video, read October 27, 2026
- Meta Marketing API, click-to-WhatsApp ads, read October 27, 2026
- WhatsApp blog, channels and businesses in the Updates tab (June 2025), read October 27, 2026
- exchange4media, Meta brings ads to WhatsApp Status (trade press, search snippet), read October 27, 2026
Meta publishes no WhatsApp-specific pixel size or safe zone; because Status is sold only with Instagram Stories, the Stories spec governs the creative. The thirty-second ceiling comes from launch coverage, not a Meta page. A February 2026 report says the ads also run in Europe, which conflicts with Meta's documentation; this page follows Meta's list.
How we build an ad for it
Directed by people, made with AI, finished by hand. You approve the script and the sound before any footage is made.
Shot like a status
The ad sits between a friend's holiday photo and a cousin's wedding clip, in the same frame as people's own posts. It is filmed the way a person would post: phone-native framing, natural light, a face, never a television commercial shrunk to fit a phone.
Product and person in the first frame
Viewers tap past statuses in under a second, so the opening frame carries the product and a person. There is no logo build and no slow open; the message lands before the thumb moves.
One master for two placements
Status runs only with Instagram Stories, and the testing and dynamic creative tools are switched off for it, so a single 9:16 master serves both. It is built at 1440 by 2560 inside the Stories safe zone: 14 percent clear at the top, 35 at the bottom, 6 at each side.
End on a question the chat can answer
A tap opens a conversation, not a web page. The film ends on a question the business will genuinely answer, and we write the greeting and ice breakers to pick up its last line, so the chat begins where the film stopped.
A version per language
Language is one of the few signals WhatsApp uses, so cuts are made per language, Hindi, Gujarati, Tamil, Portuguese, Bahasa Indonesia or Arabic as the plan needs, with captions burned in, since sound is optional on the Stories placement it rides with.
Identity and eligibility checked first
The WhatsApp business name and picture set on the creative must match the brand in the film, or delivery to Status can fail. Before a brief becomes a script we check the category too, since finance, employment, housing, political, pharmaceutical and healthcare advertisers are excluded.
Films that fit
Finished Filmito films, labeled with what each one is. Hover or tap to play.
What to order
Statuses vanish after a day and every language is another cut, so a monthly flow of short vertical films in the languages you sell in fits better than one film.
15 seconds. One idea, one hook, one clear ask. First cut in 3 days, 2 revision rounds, 16:9 and 9:16 included.
Launch on the pricing page4 unique ads every month. Different angles, not shorter cuts.
Growth on the pricing pageQuestions about WhatsApp Status ads
Can an ad run only on WhatsApp Status?
No. Meta's documentation says WhatsApp Status is available only when Instagram Stories is also selected, and standalone Status campaigns are not supported. We build one vertical master that works in both places.
Does WhatsApp use chats to target Status ads?
No. WhatsApp says it uses limited information such as country or city, language, the channels a person follows and how they interact with ads, plus Meta-wide preferences for people who link their accounts; personal messages, calls and groups are not used, and phone numbers are never sold or shared with advertisers.
What happens when someone taps a WhatsApp Status ad?
It opens a WhatsApp chat with the business, or a website if that is the destination, with an editable greeting and optional ice breakers. We write those lines with the film so the chat starts where the ad ends; the replies are yours to answer.
Can a bank, insurer, hospital or recruiter use WhatsApp Status ads?
No. Meta lists finance, employment, housing and social issue or political ads as not eligible, and pharmaceutical, healthcare and GSI advertisers as excluded from Status delivery. Those brands need another placement for the same film.
What size and length should a WhatsApp Status ad be?
Vertical 9:16, built to the Instagram Stories spec it is sold with: 1440 by 2560 recommended, with about 14 percent clear at the top, 35 at the bottom and 6 at each side. Launch coverage reported ad videos of up to thirty seconds, so we cut fifteens and thirties.
Are WhatsApp Status ads available in India, Brazil, Indonesia and the Gulf?
Yes, by Meta's documentation, which lists the placement as global except the EU, the UK, Iran, Cuba, Syria, Russia and North Korea. A later press report says Europe has them too, which conflicts with Meta's list, so we follow Meta's.
Keep planning
Other screens, the craft behind the films, and the public prices.
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