There’s a new feature coming to WhatsApp, but it isn’t coming to your conversations. No, the platform is getting ads. It’s the first time the messaging giant, launched in 2009, has placed advertising in its service.

These ads won’t appear in your personal messages or group chats. Instead, they’ll be hidden away in the “Updates” tab — the part of the app where users post status updates or follow Channels for different topics and interests. According to Meta, the parent company of WhatsApp, this is intentional. It wants ads to appear in an area that doesn’t “interrupt” your personal chats. They’ll be rolled out gradually, but ads will eventually become available to more users.

Over 1.5 billion people check the Updates tab every day, according to Meta. That’s a huge audience for advertisers. But if you just use WhatsApp for messaging, you might never see an ad. If you do use the Updates tab regularly, however, you’ll notice a difference.

There are three types of ads coming. First, there will be ads in the Status section. While you’re scrolling through photos, videos, or text updates from your friends that disappear after 24 hours, you might come across promotional content from a company. These look and feel like normal statuses — except they’re from brands. Users can click on them to start a conversation directly with the business.

Second, WhatsApp is launching Promoted Channels. This means that channel administrators can pay for increased exposure to get their content in front of more users. It’s a way for businesses and creators to grow their audiences directly within WhatsApp — something that wasn’t possible before.

Finally, Meta is testing a subscription model for Channels. Businesses can charge users a monthly fee for access to exclusive content. For example, a user could pay to subscribe to a cooking channel that sends out subscriber-only recipes and updates. It’s a new revenue stream for WhatsApp and a monetization tool for brands and creators.

What about privacy? This is what most users will be asking. After all, WhatsApp has long built its reputation on being a private, secure messaging service. Meta says it’s taking a “cautious” approach. Ad targeting will be based on broad information — like your country code, device language, age range, and city — instead of exact location or personal data. Additionally, WhatsApp will use engagement data from Channels and Status updates to inform the ads shown. For example, what type of content users follow, how they interact with posts, and which ads they click on.

Importantly, all of your messages will still be end-to-end encrypted. WhatsApp says it won’t read your messages or use them to show you ads. And for those who also use other Meta services like Instagram or Facebook, there’s an optional feature called Accounts Center. When you link your WhatsApp account to this, Meta can access cross-platform data to personalize your ad experience. This feature is turned off by default and can be disabled at any time.

WhatsApp will also give users the ability to understand and control their ad experience. You’ll be able to see why a specific ad was shown, block specific advertisers, or report any ad that you feel is inappropriate. The company is making sure that users understand their ad experience — and make it as optional as possible.

But behind this move is Meta’s larger strategy. WhatsApp, which boasts more than 2 billion users worldwide, hasn’t contributed much to Meta’s massive advertising machine. Most of WhatsApp’s revenue today comes from its Business Platform — a paid service that lets businesses chat with customers — and “click-to-WhatsApp” ads on Facebook and Instagram. That’s changing. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has said that WhatsApp’s Business Platform is a “fast-growing revenue stream.” Now, by putting ads inside WhatsApp, Meta is looking to take it further.

“We thought this was the next natural evolution,” says Alice Newton Rex, WhatsApp’s VP of Product. “Businesses have been asking for more ways to connect directly with people inside WhatsApp, and we wanted to give them a simple, efficient, and private way to do that.”

Other social platforms like Reddit and Discord are also expanding their advertising models. Social platforms are increasingly finding ways to run ads that won’t turn off users.

Meta paid $16 billion for WhatsApp in 2014. For years, the app stayed away from Meta’s ad machine. But with advertising business more important than ever — Meta makes about 98% of its revenue from ads — WhatsApp was always going to be next. This is the beginning of a new era for the platform.

Users might not notice a difference, though, especially if they don’t use the Updates tab. But for WhatsApp and Meta, this is a big change. One that reflects the pressure of economic times and the pressure for growth from investors.

Ads on WhatsApp are no longer a future concept — they’re here, and they’re real. The experience remains mostly untouched for now. But with Meta at the wheel, this is just the start of WhatsApp’s commercial transformation.