Instagram, Facebook & WhatsApp to Test Paid Subscriptions
Meta plans premium subscriptions for Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp, adding AI features while keeping core services free. Big tech shift ahead.
Tech giant Meta is set to trial premium subscriptions for Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp users in the coming months as part of its latest experiment with paid services.
The new services will provide access to a range of features, including artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities.
Under this plan, the platform's core services will remain free to use.
The company is also planning to test subscriptions for features like its Vibe video generation app, which it says "can turn your ideas into reality with new AI visual creation tools."
Meta announced Vibe in September as part of the latest version of its Meta AI app.
According to TechCrunch, which first reported the news, the company also wants to utilize Manus in its subscription plans, a Chinese AI firm it reportedly agreed to acquire in December for $2 billion (£1.46 billion).
The company will also continue to offer standalone Manus subscriptions to businesses.
At the time, Meta said the deal would help improve its AI by giving people access to "agents"—tools that can perform complex tasks with minimal user interaction, such as planning trips or creating presentations.
"Manus's exceptional talent will join Meta's team to deliver general-purpose agents across our consumer and business products, including Meta AI," the company said in a blog post.
After relocating from China to Singapore, Manus has sought to differentiate itself from rival AI developers with what it claims is a "truly autonomous" agent.
Software Services
Unlike many chatbots, which require users to repeatedly prompt them to get the desired response, Manus says its service can independently plan, execute, and complete tasks according to instructions. In January, Beijing said it would investigate the Meta deal to determine whether it violated China's technology export laws or national security regulations.
Last year, Facebook tested limiting the number of links some users could share when posting on the social media platform.
Notifications received by some users in the UK and the US stated that they could only share a certain number of links in Facebook posts without a subscription.
The company described it as "a limited test to understand whether the ability to publish a higher number of posts with links adds additional value for subscribers."
In 2023, Meta launched a paid verification service that gives Facebook and Instagram users a blue checkmark for a monthly fee.
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