SAN FRANCISCO: Global messaging service WhatsApp says it will start sharing the phone numbers of its users with Facebook, its parent company. That means WhatsApp users could soon start seeing more targeted ads on Facebook — although not on the messaging service itself.
The move is a subtle but significant shift for WhatsApp, which has long promised to safeguard the privacy of more than 1 billion users around the world.
WhatsApp is giving users a limited time to opt out of sharing their information with Facebook, although they must take the extra step of unchecking a box to do so.
It also says Facebook won’t post phone numbers online or give them out to anyone.
But the giant social network has been looking for ways to make money from WhatsApp since it bought the service two years ago, in an eye-popping deal ultimately worth $21.8 billion.
At the same time, Facebook has pledged not to interfere with a longstanding promise by WhatsApp’s co-founders to respect users’ privacy and keep ads off its messaging platform.
WhatsApp on Thursday offered a glimpse of its plans for turning on the money spigot, releasing new documents that describe the company’s privacy policy and the terms of service that users must agree to follow.
The documents are the first revision of those policies since 2012, before Facebook acquired WhatsApp.
One change follows through on previous hints by WhatsApp executives, who have said they’re exploring ways for businesses to communicate with customers on WhatsApp. That could include using WhatsApp to provide receipts, confirm a reservation or update the status of a delivery.
Companies could also send marketing offers or messages about sales to individual customers, according to the new documents, which note that users will be able to control or block such messages.
WhatsApp says it will continue to bar traditional display ads from its service.
“We do not want you to have a spammy experience,” the company tells users in a summary of the new policies.
Another change is potentially more controversial: WhatsApp says it will begin “coordinating” accounts with Facebook by sharing WhatsApp users’ mobile phone numbers and device information, such as the type of operating system and other smartphone characteristics.
The company says Facebook will employ the phone number internally to better identify WhatsApp users on Facebook, so it can recommend friends or show targeted advertising.
The ads would come through a Facebook program called “Custom Audiences,” which lets a business upload lists of customers and phone numbers or other contact information the business has collected from warranty cards or other sources. Facebook matches the list to users with the same information and shows them ads.
Facebook says it doesn’t give out users’ information to advertisers.
WhatsApp phone numbers are valuable to Facebook.
While the social network already has many phone numbers, it doesn’t require users to provide them, and doesn’t always have the most current number for everyone on Facebook.
But anyone on WhatsApp must provide a current phone number because that’s how WhatsApp knows where to deliver messages.
The coordination of accounts may draw fire from privacy advocates.
WhatsApp has long promised not to employ user data for advertising.
Its acquisition by Facebook two years ago sparked complaints from activists who worried the new owner would start mining WhatsApp accounts.
Though both companies pledged WhatsApp would operate separately from its parent, the Federal Trade Commission warned them publicly, in a 2014 letter, against changing how they employ WhatsApp user data without users’ consent.
WhatsApp says current users have up to 30 days to accept the new policy terms or stop using the service.
Once they accept, they have 30 more days to opt out of sharing with Facebook.
Privacy groups have praised WhatsApp for building powerful encryption into its services, making it impossible for the company or anyone else to read users’ messages.
WhatsApp promises that encryption will remain, so neither WhatsApp nor Facebook would be able to use message content for advertising purposes.
WhatsApp to share phone numbers with Facebook
WhatsApp to share phone numbers with Facebook
Riyadh region welcomes 15m tourists by end of Q3
RIYADH: The Riyadh region welcomed 15.1 million tourists from within and outside Saudi Arabia by the end of the third quarter, underscoring the Kingdom’s growing presence on the global tourism map.
In an X post, Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Tourism said total tourist spending in the region reached approximately SR33 billion ($8.8 billion) during the period, marking an 18 percent year-on-year increase.
Strengthening the tourism sector is a key pillar of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 agenda, as the Kingdom seeks to diversify its economy and reduce reliance on crude revenues. Under the National Tourism Strategy, Saudi Arabia aims to attract 150 million visitors by the end of the decade.
“The Riyadh region recorded growth in its tourism indicators; the capital witnessed a significant increase in the number of visitors and a rise in the volume of tourism spending during the third quarter of 2025,” the Ministry of Tourism said in the post.
The ministry added that the number of tourist rooms in the Riyadh region rose by 34 percent year on year in the third quarter of 2025 to reach 50,000.
According to the ministry, the number of registered tour guides in the Riyadh region climbed to 673 during the third quarter, up 44 percent compared with the same period last year.
Earlier this month, Saudi Arabia’s Deputy Minister of Tourism, Princess Haifa bint Mohammed, said domestic tourism spending in the Kingdom reached SR105 billion by the end of the third quarter of 2025, representing an 18 percent year-on-year increase.
Speaking at the Budget Forum 2026, Princess Haifa said the tourism sector remains one of the most promising drivers of national economic diversification.
In April, data from the Saudi Central Bank, also known as SAMA, showed that inbound tourism spending in the Kingdom surged to a record SR153.61 billion in 2024, marking a 13.82 percent annual increase.
Earlier this month, the Tourism Development Fund announced six agreements and a memorandum of understanding with public and private sector entities during the Development Finance Conference Momentum 2025, strengthening partnerships with a total impact exceeding SR4 billion.
The fund plays a central role in advancing development finance and sector growth as a national enabler, supporting business expansion and broadening the tourism investment base.
