The rest after the ad
The slogan “It’s free and it always will be” has long been displayed on the Facebook home page… But things are changing. Because as the Techcrunch site reveals, Meta is preparing to launch a new experiment, as part of its revenue diversification strategy. The deployment must be done gradually, “over the next few months“.
Advanced features with AI
These new premium offers will provide access to exclusive features, particularly related to artificial intelligence. According to Techcrunch, “each app will have its own set of premium features“The group led by Mark Zuckerberg also indicates that it will test”a variety of features and subscription plans“, without limiting yourself to a single strategy.
For Instagram, some leads have already started to leak: according to Alessandro Paluzzi, an engineer specializing in the detection of features in development, the subscription could include the unlimited creation of subscriber lists, the possibility of seeing who does not follow you back, or even the option to consult a Story without its author knowing.
Vibes and Manus in growth relay
At the same time, Meta also plans to offer subscriptions to tools like Vibes, its AI video generation application presented last fallwhich allows “bring ideas to life“and proposes”a new way to create, share and play“.
Meta also intends to develop subscription offers around Manus, the AI startup of Chinese origin that it bought in December 2025 for $2 billion. Based in Singapore, this startup offers autonomous “agents” that can independently plan, execute and complete complex tasks, such as arranging trips or creating presentations, with minimal user interaction.
Basic access will remain free
The parent company of Facebook, Instagram, Whatsapp and Threads, however, wishes to reassure: access to the basic services of its various platforms will remain free. In fact, this approach takes up the principles of the freemium model, where essential functionalities remain accessible to everyone, while premium services are offered for a fee.
This announcement adds to a series of tests and launches of paid subscriptions carried out by Meta in recent months. For example, since January 2026, British users have been offered a monthly subscription of 2.99 pounds to access ad-free versions of Facebook and Instagram – a service already available in the European Union at 5.99 euros per month.
As the BBC reminds uslast year, Facebook also tested a limitation on the number of links that certain users could share without a subscription. Earlier, in 2023, Meta had also launched a paid certification service granting a blue badge to Facebook and Instagram users for a monthly subscription.
