But WhatsApp has now introduced ads into its app, breaking its founding values. Forbes reported that the introduction of targeted advertising was a factor in co-founder Brian Acton leaving the ...

WhatsApp's "Chats" tab, where users send and receive messages, will remain end-to-end encrypted and will not be used to show ads, Srinivasan said.

It’s official, ads are coming to WhatsApp. However, depending on how you use the popular messaging app, you may never see one. Hot on the heels of the welcome addition of a proper WhatsApp iPad ...

For the first time since launching in 2009, WhatsApp will now show users advertisements. The ads are “rolling out gradually,” the company said.

Meta hopes that by limiting its new ads to WhatsApp’s Updates tab it will disrupt users as little as possible, Srinivasan said. Users’ status updates as well as personal messages and calls on ...

The introduction of ads could signal a wider shift away from private messaging toward monetised, monitored communication. European users should pay close attention – your messages may not stay ...

They left Meta in 2018 and 2017, respectively. WhatsApp ads will use broad, general targeting like a user’s location, language preferences, and Channels that they follow, Newton Rex said.

Facebook and Instagram’s parent company, which bought WhatsApp in 2014, said Monday it would introduce ads in the app’s Updates tab, which the company said counts on 1.5 billion users daily.

WhatsApp boss Will Cathcart stated the new features are a “natural extension of messaging services,” drawing parallels to rival apps and Meta’s other platforms. He emphasised that these changes will ...

By Vera Emoghene Jun 16, 2025 1:29 pm WhatsApp (Photo credit: Shutterstock.com / Primakov) ...

WhatsApp is testing ads in the Status section of the Updates tab. New paid subscriptions and promoted Channels are also rolling out. Private messages remain untouched and end-to-end encrypted.