WhatsApp to Start Showing Ads to Users

WhatsApp users, brace yourselves—ads are coming. On Monday, the messaging giant announced that advertisements will start appearing in the app’s Updates tab, which is used by as many as 1.5 billion people every day.

But don’t worry, they won’t be popping up in your chats, so you can still enjoy your conversations uninterrupted.

This marks a significant shift for WhatsApp, especially considering its humble beginnings.

RELATED: Facebook Turns 20 This Year! How The App Has Changed The World!

When founders Jan Koum and Brian Acton created the platform in 2009, they promised to keep it free of ads. But after Facebook purchased WhatsApp in 2014, and the founders left the company a few years later, Meta Platforms (the parent company) has been eager to find ways to generate revenue from the popular messaging service.

The introduction of ads in WhatsApp’s Updates tab is part of Meta's larger strategy to monetize its platforms, tapping into WhatsApp's massive global user base.

While some users might be wary of this change, it’s clear that Meta is trying to find new ways to keep the app profitable without disrupting the core user experience.