Nearly a decade after Meta bought WhatsApp for $19 billion, the messaging app is finally introducing ads. It's a major step that goes against the WhatsApp founder's initial stance of rejecting any form of advertising.
Meta announced on Monday that businesses can now run status ads on WhatsApp, which will encourage users to interact with advertisers through the messaging function.
The ads will only appear in the 'Updates' tab to ensure they don't intrude on users' private conversations.
Meta also announced that WhatsApp's Channels feature will begin to be monetized through search ads and paid subscriptions, marking a more aggressive effort to make WhatsApp a revenue-generating platform.
Meta's CEO Mark Zuckerberg said the first appearance of ads on the messaging app is an important step in the company's development.
The efforts to monetize WhatsApp also come as Meta faces a high-profile antitrust case with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) over its massive acquisitions of WhatsApp and Instagram.
Previously, Meta allowed advertisers to run ‘click-through’ ads on Facebook and Instagram that directed users directly to WhatsApp to interact directly with businesses.
WhatsApp now has over 3 billion monthly active users including over 100 million in the United States with a rapid growth rate.
