Meta introduces new paid services for Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp

Meta, the company behind Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, is expanding its business model and introducing new subscription services. This was announced by Meta Product Chief Naomi Gleit in a video. The new plans are not intended to replace existing paid services such as Meta Verified, which, among other things, hides advertising, but to complement them. Corresponding reports about the diversification of the company's revenues have been circulating since the beginning of the year.

Plus Models

According to Bloomberg and TechCrunch, Instagram Plus and Facebook Plus are part of the new paid services, joining the already announced model WhatsApp Plus. The offers for Instagram and Facebook each cost 4 US dollars per month; WhatsApp Plus costs 3 dollars.

The Instagram Plus model includes, for example, the ability to highlight a story once a week, extend the availability of a story by another 24 hours, and view another person's story in preview without being shown as a viewer.

With Facebook Plus, users can extend the lifespan of Facebook Stories from 24 to 48 hours. In addition, the plan offers further features that mainly focus on interaction with stories: users can select their app icons for the Facebook or Messenger apps on their smartphone, and with “Super Reactions,” users can send animated heart reactions that appear in friends' stories. In addition, the list of story viewers can be searched for viewers.

In addition, paying users receive further insights into stories: they can see how often their stories have been viewed again. Paying customers also get the opportunity to view a mini-preview of stories via a “story preview” without being shown as a viewer. According to Meta, story authors are informed that this feature exists.

The paid model WhatsApp Plus, on the other hand, offers additional functions such as the ability to pin up to 20 chats instead of just 3, use premium stickers, and use individual ringtones.

Meta One

In addition to the Plus plans, Meta is testing the “Meta One” program, which relates to the company's AI functions: “Meta One Plus” costs 8 US dollars per month and “Meta One Premium” costs 20 US dollars per month. With the One plans, subscribers can create more images and videos with Meta AI, among other things. The difference between the two One models is that the Premium plan offers more computing power for more demanding queries. This means that the Premium plan enables a more in-depth analysis for complex tasks. In addition, it provides more features for creating videos and images in all Meta apps, TechCrunch reports. Meta will initially test the AI-focused plans starting next month in Singapore, Guatemala, and Bolivia.

For creators and businesses, Meta is testing two further plans: “Meta One Essential” costs 15 US dollars and includes, among other things, the Meta Verified badge. “Meta One Advanced” costs 50 US dollars per month and allows subscribers, among other things, to appear higher in search results on Instagram and Facebook. It also allows Instagram creators to offer clickable links in posts and Reels. Meta will test these plans starting at the end of this week in countries such as Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Thailand, and Bangladesh.

According to the company, Meta AI will remain free for casual users, while the AI plans follow the same approach as the offerings of other providers of AI models, who charge fees for additional computing power and more intensive use. Meta says that the plans will be expanded in the coming weeks with additional features for users of AI glasses.

(afl)