They will appear in only one part of the Meta-owned messaging service, it said. The move is potentially lucrative, while raising questions about user privacy.

The introduction of advertising represents Meta's effort to monetize Whatsapp's massive user base of over two billion monthly active users. Industry analysts have long speculated that Meta would eventually bring advertising to Whatsapp given its scale and engagement rates. The timeline for these features was not specified in the announcement.

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,