WhatsApp’s privacy campaign invades Roblox and Twitch

Promoting new privacy features like leaving groups silently and screenshot blocking, WhatsApp uses Roblox and social media to access users in their native environments.

This week, Meta-owned WhatsApp took over the Piccadilly Lights, Twitch streams and Roblox in-game out-of-home (OOH) in the final phase of a global brand campaign highlighting WhatsApp’s interlocking layers of protection. 

The messaging app’s privacy campaign has appeared on social, digital video, broadcast channels, in print and on billboards across the world over the last month. 

It now culminates with a week-long activation on London’s famous Piccadilly screens, alongside a privacy-focused minigame on Twitch, in-game advertising in Roblox and a media partnership with Hearst and The Players’ Tribune; reaching users with interests in gaming, entertainment and sport in their native environments.

The rollout of three new privacy-focused features announced earlier this month were: leaving groups silently, controlling who can see when you're online, and screenshot blocking for ‘view once’ messages. 

WhatsApp’s Global Head of Brand, Vivian Odior, said: “Following the introduction of three new features, this campaign shows how WhatsApp’s features provide interlocking layers of protection and give users full control over the level of privacy they are seeking. 

“With both outdoor and digital placements, we want to highlight the closeness that’s possible on WhatsApp when you can message confidently and worry-free in a secure space.”

WhatsApp’s Privacy Rangers

A partnership with a number of top Twitch streamers will see them activate a ‘Privacy Mode timeout’ when they need a break from streaming. When activated, an in-stream retro minigame will allow viewers to use the chat to target the onscreen privacy intruders to earn rewards. 

In a first for WhatsApp, in-game OOH will appear in the online game Roblox. In-game billboards will display WhatsApp’s Privacy Rangers who personify the layers of protection as Roblox characters.

A media partnership with The Players’ Tribune will also see famous voices including Tom Daly and Dina Asher-Smith highlight why message privacy and WhatsApp’s layers of protection matters to them in a series of sponsored content.


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