Technology giant Meta has announced that it will begin testing new premium subscriptions for Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp users in the coming months. The new paid services are expected to offer access to exclusive features and expanded artificial intelligence capabilities, while the basic versions of the apps will remain free.
What the new subscription will offer
Meta plans to test various subscription options with different features for each platform. The company emphasizes that the new services are intended to unlock greater productivity and creativity for users, along with advanced AI capabilities. However, the basic features of Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp will remain available free of charge.
According to information uncovered by developer Alessandro Paluzzi, who regularly discovers new features before their official launch, the Instagram subscription could include the ability to create unlimited audience lists, view a list of followers who do not follow you back, and view Stories without the author seeing that you have viewed them.
👆🏻 #Instagram is working on a new paid subscription** that will offer new perks, including the ability to create unlimited audience lists, see the list of followers who don’t follow you back and sneak a peek at a story without showing that you’ve viewed it 👀 pic.twitter.com/cQp6xUEzOY
— Alessandro Paluzzi (@alex193a) January 22, 2026
Paid AI features
One of the key components of the new subscription will be Vibes – an AI tool for generating short videos that Meta introduced in September 2025 as part of the Meta AI app. Vibes allows users to create and edit AI-generated videos. Although the service has been free since its launch, Meta now plans to switch to a freemium model, under which some video creation options will be available only to paying subscribers.
Meta also intends to integrate Manus – a startup focused on AI agents that the company acquired in December 2024 for a reported CZK 51 billion ($2 billion). Manus offers advanced AI agents capable of independently planning, executing, and completing complex tasks based on user instructions. Meta plans to incorporate Manus into its products while continuing to offer it to businesses as a standalone subscription.
#Instagram is working on adding a shortcut to Manus AI in the settings page 👀 pic.twitter.com/CI9yYJD896
— Alessandro Paluzzi (@alex193a) January 23, 2026
Growing trend of paid services
Meta is not the first social network to test paid services. Snapchat+, which starts at CZK 82 per month ($3.99), already has more than 16 million subscribers – more than double the number at the beginning of 2024. This success demonstrates that there is demand for premium features on social networks.
Meta said it would listen to feedback from the user community and collect data during testing over the coming months. The price of the new subscription has not yet been disclosed, nor has the exact launch date of the testing phase.
In January 2026, users in the United Kingdom were informed about the option of a monthly subscription costing CZK 85 (£2.99) for access to ad-free versions of Facebook and Instagram. Users in the EU pay CZK 147 per month (€5.99) for the same service. This initiative follows an announcement from September 2025, when Meta began offering users the option to pay for versions of the apps without personalized ads.
The new subscription with AI features represents another attempt by Meta to diversify its revenue and offer users more ways to use its platforms. Whether this model catches on will become clear during the coming months of testing and from users’ reactions to the new features and their price.
Sources: theverge.com and bbc.com
