Meta to trial premium subscriptions across Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp

Meta plans to trial premium subscriptions for Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp in the coming months, offering users access to exclusive features across its apps

First the technology company said it will introduce a premium experience on Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp that provides access to additional tools and “more control over how people share and connect”, while keeping the core services free to use

Meta said the new subscriptions will include features such as expanded artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities and will “unlock more productivity and creativity”

The company also said it plans to scale Manus, an AI agent it recently acquired for a reported $2bn, as part of its subscription strategy. The company is going to integrate Manus into Meta products, while continuing to sell standalone subscriptions to businesses

Meanwhile, Meta will also test subscriptions for individual features, including its Vibes video generation app, which it says “can bring your ideas to life with new AI visual creation tools”

Meta announced Vibes in September as part of the latest version of the Meta AI app. While the tool has been free since launch, Meta now plans to introduce a freemium model, with users able to subscribe to unlock additional video creation capacity each month

In September, Meta began rolling out ad-free subscription options for Facebook and Instagram in the UK, giving users the option to pay for a version of the platforms without personalised advertising

Users can continue to access both platforms for free with personalised ads, or pay £2.99 per month on the web and £3.99 on iOS and Android for an ad-free experience

Meta may be positioning premium subscriptions as a way to offset its growing investment in artificial intelligence. While AI providers such as OpenAI, Google and Anthropic charge for access to more advanced models, Meta’s Llama family of models has remained open

Speaking to Marketing Week in December, Meta CMO Alex Schultz said one of the company’s key priorities for 2026 is to better understand its competitive landscape, from TikTok and Google to OpenAI

“This is one of the most competitive moments in the tech industry there’s been in my career,” Schultz explained. “My number one focus area is to be really good at competitive intelligence and understand what’s going on in the industry. Like really deeply understand that.”

Source: www.marketingweek.com