WhatsApp announced yesterday that it will now show ads from businesses through its Stories-like feature, months after adding an unnecessary floating AI button to the main chat interface. In response,

It’s official, WhatsApp ’s latest update is bringing ads to the platform.

After years of providing free services without any bells attached, WhatsApp is now going to start showing ads on the popular chat app. To be clear, users will only see ads on the Status screen — the app’s take on Instagram’s Stories.

WhatsApp is rolling out ads. In an update on Monday, Meta announced that it will now show ads from businesses through its Stories-like status feature.

WhatsApp is testing ads in Status and paid channel subscriptions, all inside the Updates tab. Private messages remain encrypted and ad-free.

WhatsApp is rolling out new ad features including a subscription model that will allow channels to offer exclusive content for a monthly fee.

The cofounders of WhatsApp resisted ads in the app for years, including after the company was acquired by Meta for $22 billion in 2014. Brian Acton and Jan Koum left the company in 2017 and 2018, respectively, and on Monday Meta introduced ads in the “Status” feature as well as sponsored Channels in the the “Updates” tab of WhatsApp.

While privacy concerns have made monetizing the app a challenge, Meta is again betting on ads to address its revenue goals.