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Meta Platforms is preparing to trial paid subscription options across Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp in the coming months. The company plans to keep the core services free while adding optional premium features.
Meta confirmed the testing plans to TechCrunch, calling them experiments with paid services and expanded artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities. The company also signaled it will test different feature bundles across its apps.
Meta said users will still access the platforms’ core services without paying. The company plans to reserve certain features for subscribers during the trials.
The premium plans are expected to include expanded AI capabilities across the apps. Meta framed the effort as another test of paid services layered on top of free access.
In addition, Meta plans to test subscriptions tied to standalone features, including its Vibes video generation app. Meta said Vibes can “bring your ideas to life with new AI visual creation tools.”
Meta has not detailed the full feature sets for each app’s subscription. Still, reports describe Instagram subscription tools that focus on audience controls and visibility options.
Reverse engineer Alessandro Paluzzi has highlighted potential Instagram subscription features. Those features include unlimited audience lists and the ability to see which followers do not follow a user back.
The report suggests Instagram subscribers could view Stories anonymously without notifying the poster. Meta has also said it will test multiple bundles rather than commit to one plan.
Also Read: Safety First: Meta Halts Teen AI Interactions Across Platforms
Meta plans to use Manus, a Chinese-founded AI firm it agreed to buy in December for a reported $2 billion (£1.46 billion). The company said the deal would help deliver “general-purpose agents” across consumer and business products, including Meta AI.
Meta said these agents can handle complex tasks with minimal user interaction, such as planning trips or making presentations. The company also plans to keep offering standalone Manus subscriptions to businesses.
Meanwhile, Manus is now based in Singapore after relocating from China and markets itself as a “truly autonomous” agent. In January, Beijing said it would investigate the Meta deal for potential export law or national security issues.
Meta has tested paid features before, including a Facebook experiment that limited how many links some users could share without a subscription in the UK and the US. The company described that as a limited test to gauge whether higher link volume adds value for subscribers.
The upcoming Meta premium subscriptions will sit alongside, but separate from, Meta Verified, the company’s paid verification service launched in 2023 that offers a blue tick for a monthly fee. The new trials will test whether users pay for additional AI tools and controls across Meta’s apps.
