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Gbeminiyi Ogunleye
1 month ago
Overview
Meta is Introducing Premium Subscription Plans for Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp — But Is It Worth Paying For?
Meta plans to test new subscriptions that give people access to exclusive features on its apps, the company told TechCrunch on Monday. The tech giant said the new subscriptions will unlock more productivity and creativity, along with expanded AI capabilities.
In the coming months, Meta said 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 connect, while keeping the core experiences free. Meta doesn’t appear to be locked into one strategy, noting that it will test a variety of subscription features and bundles, and that each app subscription will have a distinct set of exclusive features.
Meta also shared that it plans to scale Manus, an AI agent it recently acquired for a reported $2 billion, as part of its subscription plans.
Meta is taking a two-fold approach to Manus. The company is going to integrate Manus into 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 reverse engineer Alessandro Paluzzi, who often finds unreleased features while they’re still under development.
Additionally, Meta plans to test subscriptions for AI features, such as Vibes video generation. Vibes is Meta’s AI-powered short-form video experience built into the Meta AI app that lets people create and remix AI-generated videos. Although Vibes has been free since its launch last year, Meta now plans to offer freemium access to Vibes video creation, with the option to subscribe to unlock additional video creation opportunities each month.
While it’s unknown what the paid features on WhatsApp and Facebook will look like, Paluzzi notes that the new subscription on Instagram will let users create unlimited audience lists, the ability to see a list of followers who don’t follow you back, and the option to view a Story without the poster seeing that you viewed it.
It’s worth noting that the new subscriptions will be separate from Meta Verified. The tech giant says it’s going to use what it learned from Meta Verified to evolve its subscription business to include more offerings it thinks everyday users, creators, and businesses will want.
