WhatsApp Status ads can now run as carousels of up to 10 cards and can be optimized for landing page views. Meta added both options in version 26.0 of its Graph API and Marketing API, released July 29, 2026, and its current developer documentation for ads in WhatsApp Status lists them as supported. With Meta removing the Messenger Stories placement across all Marketing API versions on October 27, 2026, now is a good time for advertisers to review how Status fits into their Meta placements.
What changed with WhatsApp Status ads
Meta’s v26.0 changelog says carousel ads in Status support up to 10 cards, and that Landing Page Views optimization is also supported. According to Meta’s documentation, the supported formats for Status are single image, single video and carousel. Landing page views are available as an optimization goal under the Traffic, Engagement, Leads and Sales objectives.
There are limits. Meta’s documentation states that standalone Status campaigns are not supported at this time. Status placements have to run alongside Instagram Stories. Collection ads, flexible format ads, A/B testing, dynamic creative and Advantage+ creative tools are not supported for Status. Destinations can be a WhatsApp chat, a website or an Instant Form, and a WhatsApp Business Account is not required when the destination is a website.
Availability is also limited by region. Meta’s documentation says Status ads are available globally except in the EU, the UK, Iran, Cuba, Syria, Russia and North Korea. Pharma, healthcare and some other sensitive verticals are excluded from Status delivery, and special ad categories such as finance, employment, housing, and social issues, elections and politics are not eligible.
Why it matters for businesses
Carousel support matters most for retailers, real estate firms, restaurants and service businesses that sell more than one thing. Ten cards give enough room to show a product range, a set of property listings or a step-by-step offer in a single ad, instead of betting on one image.
Landing page view optimization tells Meta to find people more likely to actually load your page after clicking, rather than people who simply tap. For small businesses with modest budgets, that can be a better fit than optimizing for link clicks, as long as the website loads quickly and tracking is in place. Meta notes that value optimization for Status requires the website conversion location, the standard Purchase event, and Meta Pixel or Conversions API signals.
Geography decides who can use this. Businesses in the GCC and India, where WhatsApp is central to how customers talk to brands, can run Status ads. US advertisers can as well. Businesses targeting audiences in the EU or UK cannot reach them through Status placements, so European campaigns need to rely on other Meta placements.
What to do now
- Check that Status is eligible for your campaigns: confirm your audience is outside the excluded regions, your category is not restricted, and Instagram Stories is selected alongside Status.
- Build a carousel version of your best-performing Stories creative, using the full 10 cards only if each card earns its place.
- Test landing page view optimization against link clicks on a Traffic or Leads campaign, and judge the winner on leads or sales, not cost per click.
- Make sure your Meta Pixel or Conversions API is set up correctly before switching to value-based optimization.
- If you previously selected Messenger Stories as a manual placement, remove it, since Meta has retired that placement.
- Decide where Status traffic should go. If conversations convert better than web visits for you, send clicks to WhatsApp chat and have a plan to handle the extra volume.
If chat is your best channel, our WhatsApp AI chatbot guide for business explains how to answer leads quickly at scale. For campaign setup across Status, Stories and Feed, talk to our Meta Ads team.