Meta is rolling out subscription plans for individual users worldwide across its leading apps: Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp.
For just a few dollars a month, subscribers to Instagram Plus (US$3.99/month), Facebook Plus (US$3.99/month), or WhatsApp Plus (US$2.99/month) will get access to additional features such as profile customization, special emojis, and Story insights, among other tools.
In an announcement, Meta product chief Naomi Gleit said that “many more exciting features” will be added in the future.
The new “Plus” plans are tailored to each app: Facebook Plus and Instagram Plus focus more on self-expression on social media, while WhatsApp Plus focuses on personalization and messaging.
The company says the new plans do not replace its existing Meta Verified service, which focuses on verification, impersonation protection, and additional support. This may change over time, but Meta currently has no plans to discontinue the older services.
First off, the new Instagram Plus plan gives subscribers access to additional features, such as the ability to see the total number of people who have reviewed your Story, as well as the ability to create an unlimited follower list for your Story, in addition to the “Close Friends” option.
Users can also select one Highlight each week to boost views, extend a Story beyond 24 hours, preview a Story without appearing as a viewer, search their Story viewer list to see who is watching, and more. They can also post directly to their profile and select a Highlight without showing it in followers’ feeds.
Other features include the animated Super Heart emoji for Stories, a customizable app icon, custom profile-bio fonts, and access to additional profile pins.
These features are designed to better serve content creators and people who want to grow their following and understand their audience, but they may also appeal to regular users.
Facebook Plus offers a similar set of features to Instagram Plus. WhatsApp Plus, however, adds features such as app themes, custom ringtones, extra pinned chats, list customization, and premium stickers.
Besides, Meta also started testing new subscription packages for businesses, content creators and Meta AI (Meta's artificial intelligence) users.
For Meta AI users, two plans will be tested: Meta One Plus (US$7.99/month) and Meta One Premium (US$19.99/month). They offer the same features, but Premium unlocks greater capacity for complex computational queries.
Meta AI will remain free for regular users, but these plans follow the same path as other AI model providers, which charge for additional computing power and more usage.
The AI plans will begin testing next month, first in Singapore, Guatemala, and Bolivia.
Two other plans for creators and businesses will begin testing later this week in markets including Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Thailand, and Bangladesh.
Nguyen Dang_According to TechCrunch
