WhatsApp pushes privacy features in new global blitz

WhatsApp is launching a new UK marketing campaign film as part of a global push which aims to take the higher ground from Apple and promote the Meta-owned messaging giant’s multiple layers of protection for users.

The move follows the roll-out of three new privacy-focused features earlier this month, which allow users to leave groups silently; control who can see when they are online; and screenshot blocking for “view once” messages.

WhatsApp’s privacy already include end-to-end encryption, block and report, two-step verification, end-to-end encrypted backups, and disappearing messages.

Created in collaboration with BBDO San Francisco, the TV ad is designed to personify the feeling of being protected while having a truly private conversation when messaging and focuses on educating users on WhatsApp’s built-in layers of privacy protections.

It highlights how these features enable siblings to express themselves freely despite being surrounded by crowds in a cafe, or in a bustling city.

The campaign will appear in social, digital video, and billboards across the world, alongside broadcast channels including cinema, CTV and OLV in the UK this week.

WhatsApp global head of brand Vivian Odior said: “Timed to coincide with the introduction of three new features on WhatsApp, this campaign shows how they provide interlocking layers of protection and give users full control over the level of privacy they are seeking. In this film, we wanted to reveal the closeness that’s possible on WhatsApp when you can message confidently and worry-free in a secure space.”

Earlier this year, arch-rival Apple launched a global ad campaign designed to show how features it has developed can help consumers protect their privacy by taking back control over their personal data.

The 90-second ad spot is running across 24 countries on TV, social and outdoor media, highlighting how the data broker industry trades in mobile users’ personal data — from selling browsing history and shopping habits, to location data and contacts.

The campaign also highlights a number of features Apple has developed to hand iOS users the tools to counter tracking, including Mail Privacy Protection, which helps users combat email trackers, and App Tracking Transparency (ATT), which lets them request that third party apps do not track their mobile activity.