New £3.99 charge for Facebook and Instagram Plus to be introduced
Meta is rolling out subscription tiers for their social media platforms and messaging apps, so if you use Facebook, Instagram or WhatsApp you can pay a monthly fee for more features.
In an announcement made yesterday (27 May) by Naomi Gleit, Meta's Head of Product, the company confirmed those willing to be paying customers could pay a subscription fee.
She said: "Exciting news for how we're building value with our new subscriptions products. We're starting to roll out Facebook Plus, Instagram Plus, WhatsApp Plus with enhanced features that our community already loves.
"These subscription plans offer richer ways to express and connect across our apps, with more fun features to be added. We're also testing new subscription plans that offer premium features for those who want to unlock more from our apps and AI glasses."
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She added that people might see them testing subscriptions with the name 'Meta One', and promised it was 'just the beginning.
It's a $3.99 monthly fee for people wanting to subscribe to Facebook Plus or Instagram Plus, while someone who wanted to sign up to WhatsApp Plus would fork over the slightly lower price of $2.99.
The Verge reports that some of the new features people will be able to rent the use of include changing the app icon for Facebook and Messenger, along with the ability to make a story last for 48 hours instead of the current 24.
Instagram Plus subscribers will be able to create specific audience lists for stories beyond the 'close friends' setting, as well as 'spotlight' a story for a week so it'll stick around to be watched more.
Subscribers who post stories of their own will also be able to specifically search for viewers to their stories, in case any of you want to pull some 'Wagatha Christie' shenanigans, and you will be able to see how many times the story was rewatched as well.
Mini-previews of stories will also be able to be viewed without paying customers showing up as an actual viewer on the full thing, while Instagram Plus subscribers can also chuck another 24 hours of lifespan onto their own stories.
According to TechCrunch, people paying for WhatsApp will get extra themes, ringtones and up to 20 more pinned chats as well as premium stickers.
Meta said the paid subscriptions were not replacing Meta Verified, which will continue to be a different thing.
Paying to use the likes of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp will be optional, rather than the only option.
Last year Meta announced that Brits could pay £3.99 a month for ad-free versions of Facebook and Instagram, with the fee being linked for those who had an account on both platforms, and a cheaper £2.99 a month version for people just using the social media sites through a web browser rather than the apps.
The basic offering with personalised adverts that doesn't require a subscription fee remains.
Topics: Meta, Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Social Media
Joe Harker