End-to-end encryption is still guaranteed, and Meta also said that if users only use the app to call or message their contacts, there will be “no change to [the] experience at all,” though for many, this promise simply isn’t enough.

Meta is making a major shift in how it monetises WhatsApp, its massively popular messaging platform, by introducing ads and subscription features in the coming months. The change, announced on June 16 via a press release and further explained in a briefing with reporters, marks the first time WhatsApp will host paid promotions.

Ads will appear exclusively in the ‘Updates’ tab on WhatsApp, which includes the Status and Channels features used by about 1.5 billion users daily. Businesses can promote products or services through Status ads,

WhatsApp rolls out ads in Updates section as Meta monetizes the messaging app. Discover how this changes your private messaging experience forever.

WhatsApp is the instant messaging app we all know and love. In the ever-changing digital landscape - like Trump Mobile launched by the US president just this week - WhatsApp has remained largely unchanged in recent years.

It has been a long time coming — seven years since Meta first announced its plan to do so, in fact — but ads are starting to appear in WhatsApp as of Monday. They'll only be visible on the Updates tab and the company says those who use the app only to chat with family and friends really won't see any change to their WhatsApp experience.