The social media giant is also introducing channel subscriptions and promotions to boost revenue while preserving privacy.

Meta Platforms Inc. (META) has announced the introduction of advertisements within WhatsApp's Updates tab, marking a significant shift in the app's monetization strategy. 

This move aims to generate new revenue streams while maintaining user privacy and enhancing business engagement.

The ads will appear in the Updates tab, which hosts Status posts and Channels, separate from private chats. 

This separation ensures that personal messaging remains uninterrupted. The Updates tab currently attracts 1.5 billion daily users globally. 

In addition to advertisements, WhatsApp is introducing Channel subscriptions, allowing users to pay for exclusive content from their favorite creators or organizations. 

Businesses can also promote their channels to increase visibility. These features are designed to provide value to both users and advertisers.

Meta emphasized that WhatsApp's end-to-end encryption remains intact, ensuring that personal messages, calls, and statuses are not used for advertising purposes. 

Advertisers will have access to minimal user data, such as location, language preferences, and engagement history, to target ads effectively.

This development reflects Meta's broader strategy to diversify its revenue sources and capitalize on the growing popularity of WhatsApp as a communication platform. 

The global rollout of these features is set to begin soon, with Meta planning a gradual implementation over the coming months. 

The company recently invested $14.3 billion for a 49% stake in Scale AI, a data-labeling startup, to bolster its AI infrastructure. 

The tech giant also launched V-JEPA 2, an advanced world model designed to enhance AI's understanding of the physical world. 

Meta Platforms stock has added over 18% year-to-date and over 37% in the last 12 months.

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