The messaging service WhatsApp on Monday will begin to display ads for the first time as parent company Meta seeks to make business changes to the encrypted global platform.

After years of providing free services without any bells attached, WhatsApp is now going to start showing ads on the popular chat app. To be clear, users will only see ads on the Status screen — the app’s take on Instagram’s Stories.

WhatsApp is rolling out new ad features including a subscription model that will allow channels to offer exclusive content for a monthly fee.

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

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.

Unlike other Meta apps, the company has traditionally kept WhatsApp ad-free. That’s set to change, though ads will be limited to specific areas of the app, away from your messages. Meta will soon include ads within the Status feature.

Will Cathcart, head of Meta's subsidiary, announced the launch of WhatsApp channels with subscriptions and advertising. He says the rollout of artificial intelligence does not compromise the privacy of encrypted messaging.

But people who have chosen to link their WhatsApp account to Facebook or Instagram will see more personalised ads. The new ad features will appear in a section called Updates, which is a separate tab at the bottom of the app. WhatsApp claims to have 1.5 billion users globally.