WhatsApp has rolled out advertising for its messaging app, which has approximately 1.5bn daily active users.
Adverts will not be visible to users in their chats, but will be published in the Updates tab under the Status and Channels headings as they are rolled out globally over the coming months.
Status is similar to Instagram Stories in that brands can publish video clips that expire after 24 hours, and businesses will be able promote products and services in Status from now on.
Users will also be able to subscribe to exclusive updates from their favourite Channels for a monthly fee, and businesses will be able to promote their Channels to users who might find them interesting.
"To show ads in Status or Channels you might care about, we'll use limited info like your country or city, language, the Channels you’re following, and how you interact with the ads you see," WhatsApp explained in a blog post.
"For people that have chosen to add WhatsApp to Accounts Center, we'll also use your ad preferences and info from across your Meta accounts."
WhatsApp counts 200m businesses among its 3bn monthly active users, and push comes two years after it was firs reported that parent company Meta was discussing how to introduce ads on the platform.
Prior to the company's acquisition by Facebook parent Meta for $19bn in 2014, co-founder Brian Acton had made “No ads! No games! No gimmicks!” a company mantra.
Meta reported better than expected results for its first quarter with revenues of $42.3bn and net income of $16.6bn.
Nearly $41.4bn or around 98% of Meta's quarterly revenue was derived from advertising, and rolling out adverts on WhatsApp is expected to increase its turnover further. The company has said Updates attracts 1.5bn users daily.
"These new features will appear only on the Updates tab, away from your personal chats. This means if you only use WhatsApp to chat with friends and loved ones there is no change to your experience at all," WhatsApp said.
Meta-owned WhatsApp said that the new advertising features have built "in the most private way possible," and assured users that their messages, calls and statuses remain end-to-end encrypted so "no one (not even us) can see or hear them."
"We will never sell or share your phone number to advertisers. Your personal messages, calls and groups you are in will not be used to determine the ads you may see.
"We've been talking about our plans to build a business that does not interrupt your personal chats for years and we believe the Updates tab is the right place for these new features to work."
(Pic: Thomas Fuller/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
