WhatsApp will begin integrating ads. Photo: Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images
WhatsApp, one of the world's most popular messaging services, is getting paid ads for the first time.
"The ads will appear in the Status section of the messaging service, visible through the Updates tab on the left of the app screen, so keeping them separate from the main chat conversation area," the FT reports.
By the numbers: 1.5 billion people visit the Updates tab of WhatsApp on a daily basis, according to Meta.
"WhatsApp will collect some data on users to target the ads, such as location and the device's default language, but it will not touch the contents of messages or whom users speak with," the NYT reports.
Channel operators will also be allowed to sell subscriptions, with 10% of the revenue eventually going to Meta, Alice Newton Rex, vice president of product at WhatsApp, told Bloomberg.
The impact: Meta shares closed up 2.9% at $701.12.
