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.”

Iranian state TV has urged citizens to delete WhatsApp, claiming it shares data with Israel. WhatsApp, employing end-to-end encryption, denies these allegations and warns that such misinformation could lead to blocked access.

Ads will appear exclusively in the ‘Updates’ tab on WhatsApp, which includes the Status and Channels features used by about 1.5 billion users daily. Businesses can promote products or services through Status ads,

Meta has announced the introduction of advertisements to WhatsApp, ending its long-standing ad-free experience.

Earlier today, we reported the news that WhatsApp is finally adding ads to its app — but only inside the Updates tab. If you missed it, here’s the quick gist:

Meta is adding three ad features to WhatsApp. This represents the company’s most significant monetization push for the messaging platform, which has become a global communication standard across multiple continents.

WhatsApp, the Meta-owned instant messenger with more than two billion active users globally, is finally opening its doors to advertisements — a move that marks a significant pivot from its long-standing ad-free promise.

When you successfully create a username, WhatsApp celebrates with a cheerful confetti animation confirming your username is active. Once established, contacts without your phone number will see your username in conversations and group chats instead of your number.