Premium Subscriptions Coming to Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp

[theROZ]

Hard pass.

 

[groove-agent]

Meta should pay me to have to ingest their antisocial media. Almost every post I get on my feed is fake AI garbage.

I will cancel my account before I have to pay for it. The world is better off without antisocial media to be honest.

 

[maxoakland]

If you’re paying for premium they better stop harvesting and selling your data. And I don’t believe they will

 

[smriga]

Imagine paying for Facebook... 🤣

imagine even using Facebook.

 

[levitynyc]

That's gonna be a no from me dog.

 

[MVMNT]

Meta are gradually making social less social every day.

 

[carniesandrubes]

I don't use FB but I do pay for Regram through Patreon that gives me an Instagram app with zero ads and a bunch of other useful features. And that $ goes to that individual dev, not Meta.

 

[CasinoOwl]

Facebook and Isntagram are such junk now, I barely use them.

 

[Ethosik]

Already here for Apple. If the plan contains the word “Creator” or “Pro” it will require a subscription.

Probably before the end of the decade Apple hardware with the word “Pro” attached to it will only be available through subscription.

Or at the very least the “Pro” features of Apple Silicon will be “disabled” by default at the kernel level of MacOS and your subscription will allow you to download the kernel level code to the existing MacOS version that upon reboot will now unlock those “Pro” features already there in the hardware. This already is happening with Intel’s Xeon server CPUs.

Everyone wants us to just have thin clients and just rent powerful hardware. This has been the end game for a while now and we are starting to see traction on it.

 

[bzgnyc2]

The problem is its ubiquitousness, espcially utside of the US. When I had to reach my internet provider, rather than an expensive international call I simply used WhatsApp. I looked up their number on WA, called and connected. Getting people to move off of it will be challenging because so many are on it. The key will be the ability to interconnect with WA while building out a network of users. Of course, how do you pay for that?

People want free and full featured, so someone else pays the bills.

Anyone have any idea what WhatsApp will make premium?

It's the only one of these apps that I use and then only because its popular among non-US contacts. Also Android users (which are >70% worldwide and >40% US). As long as I can continue to communicate with them as easily as now (and not interact with randos/ads/etc), I don't care if they hide new features behind a subscription.

On the other hand, will this make Signal or just RCS more popular? I would prefer shifting communications to open standards anyway. I never really liked that most of my texts shifted from SMS/MMS to a proprietary Apple protocol. My only real problem with SMS/MMS is that it's not great for sharing high resolution images and videos. Already RCS seems good enough.

 

[rickdollar]

Meta would have to pay ME to use their products.

 

[VulchR]

Nope. Companies really want the gravy train on subscriptions. Absolutely not from - I do not want to pay for something I might or might not use. Might just delete Facebook and contact friends and family other ways.

 

[wagnerone]

I was going to make a comment about #en💩ification, but don't think these apps get much more 💩-ified.

This could turn out to be a good thing in the sense people might bail on them if there is a cost. Probably not.

 

[Textime]

Use Threema!

 

[mgymnop]

More $$$ down Zuckerberg's throat so that he can pursue his libertarian pipe dreams.

 

[minik]

Although I only use Instagram, I love a paid model (or putting key features behind paywall) under the meta umbrella and irritate existing users to get off.

 

[riverguide]

Meta plans to test premium subscriptions across Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp, the company has told TechCrunch.

The subscriptions will reportedly include exclusive features to aid creativity, productivity, and expanded AI capabilities.

Meta says each app will have its own distinct set of premium features, giving users "more control over how they share and connect, while keeping the core experiences free." However, it sounds as if Meta hasn't yet settled on what each sub will offer, with the company planning to experiment with various bundles.

For Instagram, for example, premium subscribers could create unlimited audience lists, see which followers don't follow them back, and view Stories anonymously. Paid features on WhatsApp and Facebook are likely to provide equivalent functionality.

Meta also intends to incorporate Manus, an AI agent it recently acquired for a reported $2 billion, into its subscription plans. The company will continue selling Manus subscriptions to businesses separately.

AI-powered video appears to be another upcoming offering, courtesy of Meta's Vibes feature, which targets creators and businesses with verification badges and priority support. Vibes has been free since it launched last year, but Meta now plans to offer freemium access to Vibes video creation, with the option to subscribe to unlock additional video creation opportunities each month.

It won't be the first time a social platform has adopted subscription-based access. X (Twitter) has its paid-for tiers, and Snap has shown that the model can work, with Snapchat+ gaining 16 million subscribers at $3.99 per month.

Article Link: Premium Subscriptions Coming to Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp

Oh, the comments on this one will be a fun reading. I’ll make that my bedtime reading tonight.

 

[Avidos1]

Already rolled out here, can’t remember the price but a no from me

 

[darkcompass]

It's death by a thousand subscriptions now.
I am getting quite despondent about Meta, and it's cash grab here.
I manage a private group of 35 people in whatsapp, and getting them to move off it to something else could be a nightmare. What is there that really works like it. I've found Discord and Slack are just the same, little subs for tools.

 

[jlc1978]

The second WhatsApp start charging for things that are currently free, people will move to Line or Kakao or other existing, popular apps.

Depends on how much they charge and how many of their contacts switch. Free isn’t worth much if you can’t connect.

Look at MS Office. There are a variety of free products that do much that Office does and would meet many user’s needs, yet Office, even with subscriptions , rules.

 

[Justin Cymbal]

Youre joking right?

Not joking. Other people agree with me:

I run a photo-sharing group, and I’d happily pay a small fee if it meant photos could be displayed in proper quality. So much of the magic gets lost when an image is heavily compressed, banding in gradients, reduced detail, and muddy colors completely change how a photo is experienced.

For photography especially, quality isn’t a luxury. It’s part of the image.

Not kidding / joking 🙃😅👌

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[Justin Cymbal]

You said it right, the main reason was so that people could brag about how much money they have and what they spent it on, your use case is further proof of that.