They will appear in only one part of the Meta-owned messaging service, it said. The move is potentially lucrative, while raising questions about user privacy.

WhatsApp, owned by Meta Platforms, will introduce ads in the app's Updates tab, used by 1.5 billion people daily. The ads aim to create a new revenue stream without altering the personal messaging experience.

These ads will show up in the Status and Channels section. WhatsApp says that it will use information like the users’ country, city, language, the Channels they are following, and how they interact with ads they see,