Meta is ruining WhatsApp with ads, but I still can’t leave it

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When WhatsApp was acquired by Meta (then Facebook) over a decade ago, people immediately began to fairly speculate that ads would eventually seep into what had, until then, been a refreshingly ad-free messaging experience. And yet, quite surprisingly, WhatsApp managed to stay mostly unspoiled, even though bits of Instagram and Facebook (like Stories and Communities) kept sneaking in.That sunny stretch is starting to fade at last. If you’ve been following the news, you’d know the dreaded day is finally here. WhatsApp is getting ads in the Status section. And honestly, it sucks — mostly because I can’t do anything no matter how strongly I feel against it.