Meta Platforms said it’s introducing paid advertising to WhatsApp, in a move that could expand its revenue streams.

Elsewhere, Google has recently been ramping up its campaign against ad blockers, blocking some users from watching YouTube videos and preventing playback. In the most recent update, the company is reportedly slowing down videos for users with ad blockers installed on their devices.

WhatsApp is testing ads in Status and paid channel subscriptions, all inside the Updates tab. Private messages remain encrypted and ad-free.

There's no shortage of reasons to stay off the Meta ecosystem, which includes Facebook and Instagram, but there are some places where WhatsApp remains the main form of text-based communication. The app is a great alternative to SMS,

No time to scroll through long WhatsApp chats? Ask Meta AI to summarize them for you.As reported by WABetaInfo, WhatsApp is testing a new "Summarize with Meta AI" feature for individual and group chats on Android.

Meta-owned WhatsApp is reportedly working on a new feature that will let users scan documents directly from the app using their phone's

The cofounders of WhatsApp resisted ads in the app for years, including after the company was acquired by Meta for $22 billion in 2014. Brian Acton and Jan Koum left the company in 2017 and 2018, respectively,