Meta introduces paid subscriptions for Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp, including AI features
Meta has officially announced the global launch of paid subscriptions for its main social networks. This move is driven by the fact that the company is currently spending colossal budgets on the development of its data centers and neural networks, so the corporation urgently needed new revenue streams.
Subscription costs
The new subscriptions received simple «Plus» tags:
At the same time, the new features do not replace the existing blue Meta Verified badge, but come as a separate feature for users who feel limited by the standard app settings.
What you get with Instagram Plus and Facebook Plus:
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More privacy. You can secretly view other users' Stories without appearing in the viewer list.
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Stories control. Statistics appear showing how many times users rewatched your Story. The Stories themselves can now be extended and kept active longer than the standard 24 hours.
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Feed-free publishing. You can upload posts directly to your profile, while the publication will not pop up in your followers' main news feed.
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Visual features. Access opens to unlimited audience lists, weekly promotion of one Story for greater reach, animated reactions, custom app icons, and new fonts for the profile bio.
What you get with WhatsApp Plus
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Upgraded chats. Increasing the limit of pinned chats at the very top of the screen up to 20, as well as the ability to organize contacts into custom folders.
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Look and customization. Exclusive design themes for the app, custom ringtones for different contacts, and full access to premium sticker packs.
Plans for AI and professional tiers
Basic user plans are just the beginning. Meta is already launching closed tests of more expensive options under a unified Meta One brand. They are designed for those who work professionally with neural networks, run blogs, or develop a business.
For working with AI (tests are underway in Singapore, Guatemala, and Bolivia):
Two tiers will appear — Meta One Plus for $7.99 and Meta One Premium for $19.99 per month. The regular smart assistant will remain free for everyone. But if you buy a subscription, the neural network inside the apps will think much faster, will be able to solve complex tasks, and will allow unlimited creation of high-quality images and videos based on your description.
For bloggers and businesses (tests are underway in Saudi Arabia, Thailand, and Morocco):
The developers are rolling out tiers — Essential for $14.99 and Advanced for $49.99 per month. Essential provides a blue badge for the profile, protects the page from being copied by scammers, and allows adding links to external websites. Advanced essentially provides legitimate promotion: the algorithms will intentionally boost your posts and Reels above others in search and the news feed. In addition, the system will send a notification if someone steals your unique video and re-uploads it.
The introduction of the Essential and Advanced tiers, in essence, legalizes the purchase of reach. For commercial accounts and content creators, such subscriptions will quickly move from the category of “visual features” to an obligatory monthly consumable for survival in a highly competitive feed.
