Meta is introducing ads to WhatsApp for the first time since acquiring the app for $19 billion in 2014, according to CNBC. The company announced Monday that businesses can now run status ads in WhatsApp’s Updates tab,

After the tech giant announced it would begin to include ads in WhatsApp’s Updates tab, which is used by roughly 1.5 million people per day, Signal president Meredith Whittaker took to X to lure users to her messaging tool: “Use Signal,” she wrote. “We promise, no AI clutter, no surveillance ads—whatever the rest of the industry does.”

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

Channel admins can now enable monthly subscriptions for exclusive content. If you have a channel on WhatsApp, instead of just following, superfans will be able to pay a monthly fee to subscribe and receive exclusive updates.

WhatsApp’s Updates tab features let you reach 1.5 billion daily users through promoted channels, subscriptions, and Status ads.

Meta Platforms Inc. will begin showing ads inside of its WhatsApp messaging service, opening a new potential revenue stream while the company invests heavily in artificial intelligence and other long-term projects.

WhatsApp has announced that it’s adding ads to the popular messaging app, though the initial implementation promises to be relatively restrained. In a recent Meta blog post, the company revealed that it was adding adverts to the app’s Updates tab.