Meta to Test Paid Subscriptions on Three Major Social Platforms, Integrating Manus Exclusive Features
On January 27th, TechCrunch reported that social media giant Meta announced plans to test new subscription services, granting users access to exclusive features within its apps. Meta states the new subscriptions will unlock greater productivity and creativity, and provide enhanced AI capabilities.
Meta stated that in the coming months, it will offer a paid premium experience on Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp, allowing users to utilize special features and have more control over how they share and connect, while keeping core features free. Meta doesn’t appear to be limited to a single strategy, noting the company will test a variety of subscription features and packages, and each app’s subscription will have its own unique set of exclusive features.
As part of the subscription plan, Meta plans to scale the application of the recently acquired AI agent Manus. Meta reportedly acquired Manus for $2 billion.
Currently, Meta is taking a two-pronged approach to Manus. The company plans to integrate Manus into Meta’s existing products, while also continuing to sell it as a standalone subscription service to business users. According to screenshots shared by Alessandro Paluzzi, a reverse engineer who frequently discovers unreleased features, Meta has already been spotted working on adding a shortcut to Manus AI within Instagram.
In addition, Meta plans to test subscriptions for AI features, such as the Vibes video generation tool. Vibes is an AI-powered short video experience built by Meta into its Meta AI app, allowing users to create and remix AI-generated videos. While Vibes has been free since its launch last year, Meta now plans to offer a “freemium” model for Vibes video creation, allowing users to opt into a subscription to unlock additional video creation opportunities each month.
While it remains unclear what the paid features will specifically look like on WhatsApp and Facebook, Paluzzi pointed out that the new Instagram subscription will allow users to create unlimited follower lists, view lists of followers who don’t follow back, and choose to browse Story content without the poster seeing it.
Notably, these new subscription services will be separate from “Meta Verified.” Meta stated that it will leverage the learnings from “Meta Verified” to grow its subscription business, incorporating more services it believes everyday users, creators, and businesses will want.
Meta stated that it plans to listen to feedback from its user community and gather insights when it begins rolling out these subscription services in the coming months.