Meta to test premium subscriptions on Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp

Meta plans to test new subscriptions that give people access to exclusive features in its apps, the company told TechCrunch on Monday. The tech giant said the new subscriptions will unlock more productivity and creativity, along with expanded artificial intelligence capabilities.

Meta said that in the coming months it will offer a premium experience on Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp that gives users access to special features and more control over how they share and communicate, while keeping the core experiences free. Meta doesn’t appear to be locked into one strategy, stating that it will be testing a variety of subscription features and packages, and that each in-app subscription will have a distinct set of exclusive features.

Meta also shared that it plans to expand Manus, which is The AI ​​agent you recently acquired For $2 billion, as part of its subscription plans.

Meta takes a dual approach to Manos. The company will integrate Manus into its Meta products, while continuing to sell standalone subscriptions to businesses. Meta has already been spotted working on adding a shortcut to Manus AI on Instagram, according to a screenshot shared by a reverse engineer Alessandro Paluzziwhich often finds unreleased features while still in development.

Additionally, Meta plans to test subscriptions for AI features, e.g Emoticons generate video. Vibes is Meta’s AI-powered short video experience built into the Meta AI app that allows people to create and remix AI-generated videos. Although Vibes has been free since its launch last year, Meta now plans to offer free access to Vibes video creation, with the option to subscribe to unlock additional video creation opportunities each month.

While it is not known what paid features will look like on WhatsApp and Facebook, Paluzzi notes The new subscription on Instagram will allow users to create unlimited audience lists, the ability to see a list of followers who do not follow you, and the option to view the story without the poster seeing that you have viewed it.

It is worth noting that the new subscriptions will be separate from Meta Verified. The tech giant says it will use what it learned from Meta Verified to evolve its subscription business to include more offerings that it believes everyday users, creators, and businesses will need.

Meta Verified is aimed at content creators and businesses, as it comes with a verified badge, 24/7 live support, plagiarism protection, search optimization, exclusive stickers, and more. Although these features are not aimed at casual or non-creative users, the new subscriptions will be designed for a broader audience.

Launching additional subscriptions will allow Meta to generate more revenue; However, many users may be deterred by subscription fatigue. With so many paid services competing for monthly spending, Meta will have to offer a compelling product to get users to sign up for another subscription.

Snap has proven that there is a market for social media subscriptions, with its Snapchat+ offering still a revenue stream. Snapchat+, which starts at $3.99 per month for exclusive features, has surpassed 16 million subscribers, more than doubling since early 2024.

Meta says it plans to listen to the user community and collect feedback when it begins rolling out subscriptions in the coming months.