NEW DELHI: Meta Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Wednesday announced that WhatsApp Channels has surpassed 500 million monthly active users.

Channels is a new way to get updates from people, organizations, and teams people follow on WhatsApp.

Channels are separate from your private chats, and who you choose to follow is not visible to other followers.

“500 million monthly actives on WhatsApp Channels in the first 7 weeks! Great to see the WA community so engaged,” said Zuckerberg, announcing the news on his WhatsApp Channel.

The company has also launched the official WhatsApp Channel to keep people up-to-date on what the company is building.

WhatsApp Channels are a one-way broadcast tool and deliver a private way to receive updates from people and organisations that matter to users, within the app.

According to the company, Channels is a new way to get updates from people, organisations, and teams you follow on WhatsApp. Channels are separate from your private chats, and who you choose to follow is not visible to other followers.

"We’ve launched Stickers on channels. Users are enjoying getting updates from channels they follow. And admins are using Channels as a way to connect with their followers in a new format,” said WhatsApp.

Last week, reports surfaced that could show ads in Status, the platform’s Stories-like feature, and channels but not in the main inbox.

In an interview with Brazilian media, WhatsApp’s head Will Cathcart said the company is not planning to put any ads in the main chat but can show ads in other places, like channels or status.