Meta plans to test a new subscription that gives people access to exclusive features in the app, the company told TechCrunch on Friday. The tech giant says the new subscription will unlock more productivity and creativity, as well as expanded AI capabilities.
In the coming months, Meta says it will offer a premium experience on Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp that gives users access to special features and more control over how they share and connect, while keeping the core experience free. Meta does not seem to be locked into one strategy, as it will test different features and subscription packages, and each app subscription will have different exclusive features.
Meta also shows that the plan is to scale Manus, and A recently acquired AI agent for a reported $ 2 billion, as part of its subscription plans.
Meta took a second approach to Manus. The company will integrate Manus into its Meta products, while continuing to sell standalone subscriptions to businesses. Meta has been seen working on adding shortcuts to Manus AI on Instagram, according to an image shared by a reverse engineer Alessandro Paluzziwho often find unreleased features while they are still in development.
In addition, Meta plans to test subscriptions for AI features, such as Video generation vibes. Vibes is a Meta AI-powered short video experience built into the Meta AI app that allows people to create and mix AI-generated videos. Although Vibes has been free since its launch last year, Meta now plans to offer freemium access to Vibes video creation, with the option to subscribe to unlock additional video creation opportunities each month.
While it is not known whether the paid features on WhatsApp and Facebook will appear, notes Paluzzi that the new subscription on Instagram will allow users to create an unlimited list of viewers, the ability to see the list of followers who no longer follow you, and the option to see Stories without posters seeing if you see them.
Please note that new subscriptions will be separate from Meta Verified. The tech giant says it will use what it learns from Meta Verified to expand its subscription business to include more offerings that users, creators, and businesses want every day.
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Meta Verified is aimed at content creators and businesses, as it comes with a verified badge, 24/7 live support, impersonation protection, search optimization, exclusive stickers, and more. While these features aren’t aimed at everyday users or non-creators, the new subscription will be designed for a wider audience.
The launch of additional subscriptions will allow Meta to generate more revenue; However, many users can be deterred by tired subscription. With so many paid services competing for monthly spend, Meta needs to offer a compelling product to get users to sign up for more subscriptions.
Snap has proven there is a market for social media subscriptions, as the Snapchat+ offering continues to be a revenue driver. Snapchat+, which starts at $3.99 a month for exclusive features, has 16 million subscribers, more than doubling since early 2024.
Meta says it plans to listen to its user community and gather feedback as it begins to roll out subscriptions in the coming months.