While the app has long promised a privacy-first experience free from traditional ads, recent updates suggest that's changing, and changing fast.In a blog post published Monday, WhatsApp announced an expansion of its "Channels" discovery and business tools,

The introduction of ads on WhatsApp breaks a long-standing promise made by the messaging app’s co-founders, Jan Koum and Brian Acton. The pair launched the service in 2009, and in 2014 a handwritten note taped to Koum’s desk was shared by a Sequoia Capital investor, which said: “No ads! No games! No gimmicks!”

WhatsApp says that users will start seeing ads in parts of the app, as owner Meta Platforms moves to cultivate a new revenue stream by tapping the billions of people that use the messaging service.