Meta Rolls Out Paid Subscriptions for Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp

Instagram Plus subscribers gain several new capabilities. These include the ability to highlight a Story once per week, extend a Story's availability by an additional 24 hours, and preview another person's Story without appearing as a viewer. The tier also provides data on how many users viewed a Story and how many viewed it multiple times, allows the creation of unlimited additional recipient lists, and offers more profile customization options.

Facebook Plus offers a comparable set of features tailored to its platform. Users can extend the lifespan of Facebook Stories from 24 to 48 hours. The subscription also includes the ability to select custom app icons for the Facebook or Messenger apps on a smartphone and send animated heart 'Super Reactions' that appear in friends' Stories.

AI and Business Tiers Under 'Meta One'

WhatsApp Plus focuses on enhanced utility and personalization. Subscribers can pin up to 20 chats instead of the standard three, use premium stickers, and set customizable ringtones. The service also includes access to new themes.

Beyond the core app subscriptions, Meta is testing additional paid tiers under the 'Meta One' branding. These are aimed at creators, businesses, and users of the company's artificial intelligence tools.

Two AI-focused tiers were announced: Meta One Plus at $7.99 per month and Meta One Premium at $19.99 per month. Both provide full access to Meta's AI, differing in usage limits. These AI subscriptions will be tested starting in June in Guatemala, Bolivia, and Singapore.

For creators and businesses, Meta is testing two further tiers. Meta One Essential is priced at $14.99 per month and includes the Meta Verified badge, which focuses on brand and identity protection. Meta One Advanced costs $49.99 monthly and offers preferential treatment from the search algorithm on Facebook and Instagram, allowing subscribers to appear higher in search results.

Meta One Advanced also includes a more prominent 'Follow' button on Reels and automated follow invitations to users who interact with the creator's content. Both business tiers provide deeper data insights on content distribution and audience, along with a prominent link list.

Creator Incentives and Global Reach

The creator and business subscriptions will launch initially in Bangladesh, Thailand, Saudi Arabia, and Morocco. According to TechCrunch, the existing Meta Verified offering remains unchanged for now.

Meta also appears to be developing incentive programs for high-profile creators. A program called 'Creator Fast Track' would offer $1,000 per month to accounts with at least 100,000 followers, and $3,000 per month to those with over one million followers.

The company's total user base, excluding overlaps, is estimated at 4 billion people. WhatsApp alone has approximately 3.3 billion monthly active users.