<ul data-eligibleForWebStory="true"><li>Meta, the company behind Facebook and Instagram, has announced plans to introduce ads to WhatsApp's Status tab.</li><li>While ads won't appear in the main chat feed yet, they will be shown after swiping through Status updates, targeting users based on city, phone language, and app interactions.</li><li>Up to 1.5 billion people check the Status section daily, making it a prime location for Meta to push ads for promoted channels and subscriptions.</li><li>This move contradicts WhatsApp executives' previous statements in 2023 where they denied any plans for ads in the app.</li><li>Meta's decision to monetize WhatsApp adds to concerns about data privacy and the company's respect for laws.</li></ul>

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