No More Freebies: Meta Rolls Out Paid Plus Tiers for Instagram and WhatsApp
Because apparently, data-harvesting wasn't making them enough cash, the masterminds of social media are now asking for credit cards. Get ready to pay for things that should have been basic settings all along.
The social media empire led by Mark Zuckerberg is introducing Instagram Plus and Facebook Plus for $3.99 a month, while WhatsApp Plus will set chat-addicts back $2.99 monthly.
For the price of a cheap coffee, Instagram Plus users can now view stories completely anonymously, a feature previously reserved for sketchy third-party websites that probably stole passwords. Subscribers also get the privilege of seeing the exact total view count on their stories, keeping stories alive past the standard 24-hour expiration date, and setting up unlimited custom audience lists to keep their frenemies segregated.
Meanwhile, the cheaper WhatsApp Plus tier targets customization enthusiasts. Meta is finally letting people pay for custom chat themes, personalized ringtones, extra pinned chats, and premium stickers because apparently, basic app customization is now a luxury service.
But the real cash grab is hidden in the AI division. Naomi Gleit, the head of product, announced that Meta is also testing paid tiers for their chat assistant, called Meta One Plus for $7.99 a month and Meta One Premium for a whopping $19.99 a month. The premium tier promises advanced video generation and better handling of complex logic, while the peasant-tier free version remains slow and basic.
These new tiers exist completely separately from the already active Meta Verified program, meaning users who already pay for identity verification will still need to shell out extra just to change the app icon color.
The era of the "free" internet is quietly dying as corporate giants realize people will happily pay a monthly fee just to stalk their exes anonymously. It seems social media has officially evolved from a fun public square into a highly monetized subscription trap where even the most basic features are locked behind a paywall.
Source: TechCrunch
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