WhatsApp, the Meta-owned instant messenger with more than two billion active users globally, is finally opening its doors to advertisements — a move that marks a significant pivot from its long-standing ad-free promise.

WhatsApp, long known for its ad-free messaging, is about to break with tradition and introduce advertisements for the first time. WhatsApp, owned by Meta, announced that ads will soon appear in the app's Updates section,

The monetisation tools being introduced include optional paid subscriptions for Channels, promoted Channels in the Discovery section, and advertisements embedded in the Status feature, WhatsApp’s answer to Instagram Stories.