Now you will have to pay to use Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp, Meta launches new subscription plans

New Delhi:Meta has taken a big step regarding its social media and messaging platforms. The company has introduced new paid subscription plans for Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp. Through these plans, users will be given many exclusive features, advanced tools and customization options, which will not be available to normal free users.

The company has introduced these new plans globally, which also includes India. This step of Meta clearly indicates that now the company does not want to depend only on advertisements for its earnings and is preparing to expand the subscription model rapidly.

Why is Meta bringing paid plan?

Meta is now moving towards providing premium experience on its platforms. The company wants users to pay every month for better features, more visibility and advanced tools.

This move makes it clear that Meta is now looking for new ways to increase revenue and does not want to depend only on an advertising based model.

Price of Instagram Plus and Facebook Plus

Meta has kept the starting price of Instagram Plus and Facebook Plus at $3.99 i.e. about Rs 387 per month.

However, the official prices of these plans have not been announced yet in India.

Special features will be available in WhatsApp Plus

According to reports, many premium features will be given to users in WhatsApp Plus.

These include:

• custom theme
• unique ringtone
• premium stickers
• Option to pin more chats

The focus of WhatsApp Plus is especially on personalization and better messaging experience.

Advanced features will be available in Instagram Plus

Many new and advanced features will be given to Instagram Plus subscribers.

Users will be able to see how many times their story was re-viewed. Apart from this, going beyond the Close Friends feature, there will also be an option to create an unlimited story audience list.

Along with this, users will also be able to see the story preview without appearing in the viewers list.

Story will be visible for more than 24 hours

Under Instagram Plus, users will be able to show their stories for more than 24 hours.

Apart from this, there will also be an option to spotlight one story every week, which will give it more visibility.

In another special feature, users will be able to see who is watching their story by searching their story viewers list.

Cosmetic upgrades will be available in profile and app

Meta is also adding many visual and customization features in its new plans.

Instagram Plus users will get:

• Animated Super Heart Reaction
• custom app icon
• Special fonts for bio
• Option to pin more profiles

These plans will be different from Meta Verified

Meta has clarified that these new subscription plans will be different from Meta Verified.

Meta Verified is an existing paid service of the company, in which facilities like identity verification and customer support are provided.

New plans also launched for Meta AI

Meta has also introduced a new AI based subscription plan called Meta One.

Meta One Plus

The price of this plan has been kept at $7.99 i.e. about Rs 775 per month.

This plan is for those users who use Meta AI extensively for images, videos and long reasoning tasks.

Meta One Premium

The price of this plan is $19.99 i.e. about Rs 1,939 per month.

It will have all the features of Meta One Plus, but with higher usage limits.

However, the company has said that free use of Meta AI chatbot will continue.

Plans also available for creators and business users

Meta has also launched new subscription plans for creators and business users.

Meta One Essential

The price of this plan has been kept at $14.99 i.e. about Rs 1,454 per month.

In this, users will get features like verification benefits and better profile promotion.

Meta One Advanced

This plan has been specially designed for influencers and business users.

In this, facilities like priority in Facebook feed and search results will be available, due to which more reach can be achieved.