On June 16, Meta Platforms (META) made a move that could shift the tides of its monetization strategy by announcing it will introduce advertising on WhatsApp for the first time. This marks a crucial pivot for the messaging app, which has largely steered clear of ads since Meta acquired it in 2014 for $19 billion.
Ads will now appear in the Updates tab, a space already drawing 1.5 billion daily users. The company also unveiled three monetization tools, channel subscriptions for exclusive content, promoted channels to raise visibility, and ads in Status to give businesses a spotlight for their offerings.
