WhatsApp Will Start Including Ads in Some Messaging App Sections

WhatsApp announced on Monday that users will soon start to see ads in some parts of the messaging app. This is a change in how Meta Platforms is trying to make money from the service’s users.

On Monday, WhatsApp announced that users will soon see ads in some parts of the chat app. This is a change in how Meta Platforms is trying to make money off of WhatsApp’s huge user base. The new ads will only show up in the Updates tab, which up to 1.5 billion people visit every day.

The ads will not show up in private chats, the developers made it clear. In a blog post, the company said, “WhatsApp’s personal messaging experience won’t change. Personal messages, calls, and statuses are end-to-end encrypted and can’t be used to show ads.”

The change shows that the app is no longer following its basic premise. Jan Koum and Brian Acton, who started WhatsApp, promised that it would never have ads when they first released it in 2009. There were two founders of the site, but they both left the company in the years after Facebook bought it in 2014. Meta, the company that owns WhatsApp, has been trying ever since to make the app profitable.

The platform said that ad targeting would be based on limited user data, like age, location, language, channels that are watched, and how users interact with ads that are already there. It was made clear on WhatsApp that it will not target users through personal texts, calls, or group memberships.

The change is one of three new advertising tools that WhatsApp has shown off. The platform will let channels do more than just show ads. They will also be able to charge users a monthly fee to access special material. Business owners will also be able to pay to get more people to see their sites.