In a surprise move, WhatsApp is introducing ads. For the first time since its inception in 2009, the app with the most users in the world is finally adding advertisements.

They’ve been coming for years. It was the right time to do so, according to Meta, WhatsApp’s parent company. While they are already underway, Meta is just getting started. Ads are rolling out inside the “Updates” tab, where people post Status updates and follow other Channels of interest. Importantly, the company stresses that this will not impact personal conversations. Conversations and group chats are not impacted, and Meta says they are careful to place the ads in a way that they don’t interfere with these channels.

Meta notes that roughly 1.5 billion people use the Updates tab every day, so it makes for a powerful opportunity for ad impressions. If you don’t frequently open the Updates tab, you may not even notice the changes. But if you’re someone who opens the Status and Channels tabs frequently, you’ll soon be seeing commercial content.

Three Types of Ads — and a Paid Subscription

WhatsApp’s new advertising model is comprised of three different formats.

The first type of ad will show up in the Status tab, where users can post temporary updates in the form of pictures, videos, or text. These are time-limited and will expire after a set period of time. They will be advertised by businesses and be mixed in with your friends’ status updates. But instead of seeing updates from your friends, you’ll see product promotions. If you want to respond to the ad, you can click on it and message the advertiser. That means businesses can create a direct channel to consumers from their ads.

Next, there are “Promoted Channels.” As the name suggests, admins can pay to promote their Channel on the app. Meta sees this as an opportunity for organizations, content creators, and brands to build an audience within the app without relying on off-platform promotion.

Finally, there is the paid subscription model. Businesses can pay to create exclusive updates through their Channels. For example, a cooking channel can charge a monthly subscription for premium recipes and notifications. Meta sees this as another opportunity for creators to monetize their content and for WhatsApp to earn more revenue.

This is part of a larger initiative for Meta to make WhatsApp more business-friendly. When speaking with TechCrunch, Alice Newton Rex, WhatsApp’s VP of Product, said that it was a “natural evolution” for the company given that the Business Platform and click-to-WhatsApp ads on Facebook and Instagram have already scaled up.

But how does WhatsApp ensure that user privacy is preserved in this transition?

Well, WhatsApp notes that ad targeting will only be based on the broadest of user data — such as your country, age, language settings, and city. WhatsApp will not see the content of your messages to target ads. Instead, it will rely on your interactions with Status and Channels. The channels you follow, what content you interact with, and if you click on ads will factor into which ads you see.

Additionally, if you connect your WhatsApp account to Meta’s Accounts Center — an optional feature — it will bring your preferences from Facebook and Instagram into your WhatsApp experience. It can be turned off and removed at any time.

Users will also be able to view and control their ad preferences. You’ll be able to see why a specific ad was shown to you, turn off ads, or report them. You can also block advertisers.

Until now, WhatsApp has relied on its WhatsApp Business Platform and Facebook/Instagram ads that drive users to a WhatsApp thread. Mark Zuckerberg, Meta’s CEO, recently noted that business messaging is growing quickly. But he stressed that WhatsApp could be a more significant revenue source if it’s used in this way.

It’s not the only company that’s heading in this direction. Discord announced ads last year. Reddit is also expanding its ad offerings, as the company reported its first-ever profitable quarter. With most of the largest social media companies deriving the majority of their revenue from ads, it’s no surprise that WhatsApp is also moving in this direction.

WhatsApp has long claimed that it wouldn’t add ads to the app. But now, with Meta generating 98% of its revenue from ads and spending $16 billion on buying WhatsApp in 2014, the company is looking to make some money.

The experience won’t change for most people. But the door is open. And given that Meta has been so vocal about making money on WhatsApp, these updates could be the start of something much bigger.