WhatsApp Status, a feature similiar to Instagram Stories which lets users put up pictures and videos that disappear after a day, will soon be getting adverts, the messaging app’s VP told The Economic Times (ET).

“In the future, we’ll place ads in WhatsApp Status…We think this is an appropriate place for ads” Chris Daniels told the newspaper. The executive stressed the messaging service “will remain free for people to use and we remain fully committed to end-to-end encryption.”

The move will build on another monetisation strategy WhatsApp introduced in August, when it launched a business application programming interface. Daniels explained this enables large companies to communicate directly with users, for a price.

On parent Facebook’s earning call earlier this week, CEO Mark Zuckerberg commented noted making businesses pay to send messages on WhatsApp “will make them more selective” about the information they send. He added Facebook wants to offer businesses additional paid tools to increase user interaction, and reiterated a commitment to rolling out payment services across its Messenger and WhatsApp brands.