Meta to launch paid subscriptions for Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp

Meta users will soon be able to access premium features on Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp – for a fee.

The tech giant announced on Wednesday plans to launch paid subscription plans on its most popular apps as it moves away from its historic reliance on advertising revenue.

Meta’s head of product, Naomi Gleit, announced the ‘exciting news’ in an Instagram video, where she said Facebook Plus, Instagram Plus and WhatsApp Plus would be rolled out to users globally.

While details at the moment are thin, she said the subscriptions would combine ‘enhanced features that our community already loves’ with ‘new subscription plans that offer premium features for those who want to unlock more from our apps and AI glasses.’

Ms Gleit did not reveal how much the subscriptions will cost, but early reports suggest Instagram Plus and Facebook Plus will be priced at $3.99 per month, while WhatsApp Plus will cost $2.99 per month.

This would be the equivalent of £2.98 and £2.23 respectively, though this doesn’t necessarily reflect the real cost of the subscriptions in the UK.

‘These subscription plans offer richer ways to express and connect across our apps with more fun features to be added,’ she said.

Ms Gleit stopped short of outlining what specific features users can expect to see across the different apps.

However, it is believed Instagram Plus and Facebook Plus will allow users to access better analytics, widen their audience reach and customise their profile.

WhatsApp Plus, on the other hand, will focus more on personalisation, including custom ringtones and app themes.

Eventually, Meta plans to consolidate its brand offerings under a new name, MetaOne.

‘We’re starting with plans that give people who use Meta AI more to work with. More capacity, bigger, more complex requests, and more room to create.

‘For businesses and creators, we’re offering premium tools that allow you to enhance presence, supercharge content, automate tasks, and protect your brand.’

Ms Gleit stressed that Meta was still working out ‘how to bring this all together in a way that makes sense’ and said users could expect to see the company testing the new subscription models.

‘While we’re still testing and learning, eventually we see MetaOne as the one place that brings our subscriptions together across all of our apps.

‘This is just the beginning, with a lot more value to come.’

It comes after Meta came under fire over its AI spending. The company, founded by tech mogul Mark Zuckerberg, has projected capital expenditure this year of between $125billion and $145billion.

Most of this will be spent on AI data centres.

AI features are available across the company’s flagship apps – on WhatsApp, Meta AI allows users to ask questions, generate images and coordinate plans with friends.

Facebook uses AI to moderate its content, while the ‘Meta AI support assistant is available anytime for instant help resolving issues with your account, privacy settings and more.’

On Instagram, Meta AI can be used to search, in direct messages, and to generate captions.

Meta has a monthly reach of 3.9billion active users globally.