Everything good, and free, eventually runs out, as is the law of most modern platforms. The unpaid luxuries we’ve enjoyed on Mark Zuckerberg's apps for years are becoming less permanent perks as an Instagram premium tier waits in the future.
Meta is experimenting with a paid version of the app called Instagram Plus, as first reported to TechCrunch. It's aimed at regular users instead of creators. If you subscribe, you’re promised extra control and a bit of visibility around Stories.
Meta's subscriptions will not affect core app functionality
Social media is built around addictive feedback loops where even you yourself will rewatch your posts countless times and wonder who saw it or what they thought.
With Instagram Plus, you can view someone’s Story without them knowing, and see how many times they rewatched yours. You can also organize your audience into multiple custom lists instead of just being Close Friends.
Close Friends is a single, fixed inner circle that allows you to handpick a group once, and anything you post to that list goes to all of them equally.
Custom lists allow you to create multiple groups that include maybe one for close friends, one for coworkers, one for family, and one for specific audiences. You'll choose exactly which group sees each Story.
Keeping a Story up longer is an option. You can boost one Story per week so more people see it, and you can send animated superlikes to others. It's unclear what that is, but it's most likely a more expressive, attention-grabbing version of a regular like.
Meta is currently testing these features in a few countries like Mexico, Japan, and the Philippines. Pricing starts around $1–$2 per month depending on location.
Subscriptions will spread to other apps
Apparently Meta is building a broader system where subscriptions will stretch across Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp. In a statement to Bloomberg, an Instagram spokesperson said:
Our hope from these tests is to understand what’s most valuable to people in a premium feature set.
There aren’t confirmed features for Facebook or WhatsApp yet. The only real hints point toward AI being a big part of it. It's possible that both apps could get tools that help you write posts, generate content, or manage interactions more intelligently.
WhatsApp’s core features will likely remain the same with any premium features revolving around smarter replies or organization. Besides, if they touched its primary abilities, things could get ugly fast. Many people use it to talk to families, and it's what small businesses use to communicate quicker with customers.
Most importantly, new subscriptions will exist separately from Meta Verified. Meta Verified requires you to pay to get an approved badge on your profile. You'll get impersonation protection, account support, and more priority in visibility.
It’s mostly targeted at creators, public figures, or businesses that need to prove they’re legit and protect their presence. Pricing starts at $15 monthly for the Standard plan. All Meta apps are available on the Play Store for downloads.
