The founders of WhatsApp resisted attention from investors because they wanted to build an ad-free product. The founders disliked ads and were not keen on ad-based monetization. The app initially relied on the freemium model to make money. However, in 2014 they relented and sold WhatsApp to Facebook. In 2016, Facebook made WhatsApp free for everybody. The founders left in 2017, due to dissatisfaction with Facebook introducing ads. It now makes money through the WhatsApp for Business API as well as Click to WhatsApp ads.