WhatsApp, the world’s largest messaging app, will start hosting ads for the first time in its 16-year history.
Its parent company Meta’s share price rose 2.5% on the news: More than 3 billion people use WhatsApp worldwide each month.
Social media platforms are increasingly turning to ads to boost revenue in a turbulent economy, Ars Technica reported: Reddit has increased the prominence of ads, leading to its first-ever profit in October, while Discord began showing ads for the first time last year.
The WhatsApp rollout will begin gradually, with ads at first appearing only in users’ “Updates” feed, and Meta says that they will not interrupt chats or use personal information to guide advertisers.
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