After years of providing free services without any bells attached, WhatsApp is now going to start showing ads on the popular chat app. To be clear, users will only see ads on the Status screen — the app’s take on Instagram’s Stories.

WhatsApp is testing ads in Status and paid channel subscriptions, all inside the Updates tab. Private messages remain encrypted and ad-free.

WhatsApp is finally getting adsThey'll appear in the Updates tab, integrated with Statuses and ChannelsRegular chats won't be affected by the chnages, and are still private It’s official, WhatsApp’s latest update is bringing ads to the platform.

The cofounders of WhatsApp resisted ads in the app for years, including after the company was acquired by Meta for $22 billion in 2014. Brian Acton and Jan Koum left the company in 2017 and 2018, respectively, and on Monday Meta introduced ads in the “Status” feature as well as sponsored Channels in the the “Updates” tab of WhatsApp.

The Updates tab, which holds layers such as Status and Channels, will host Meta’s WhatsApp monetisation efforts. At least for now.

In a blog post published Monday, WhatsApp announced an expansion of its "Channels" discovery and business tools, designed to help you find more content and shops directly within the app. Alongside this rollout,