Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta announced Wednesday it will launch paid premium subscriptions globally for its major social media platforms, introducing Facebook Plus, Instagram Plus and WhatsApp Plus alongside new Meta AI subscription tiers.
CNET reports that Meta is expanding its revenue strategy with the worldwide rollout of paid subscription services across its social media ecosystem. The company announced Wednesday that it will offer premium tiers for Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, along with separate subscription plans for advanced Meta AI features.
The new subscription offerings will start at monthly rates of $4 for Facebook Plus and Instagram Plus, and $3 for WhatsApp Plus. These paid tiers will provide users with additional app tools, enhanced metrics on their posts and greater control over ad targeting. Meta will also introduce Meta One plans that offer more sophisticated Meta AI capabilities.
The premium subscriptions exist alongside Meta’s existing Meta Verified program, which remains available as a separate offering. Meta Verified serves creators and businesses with benefits including enhanced support and protection against impersonation, with pricing ranging from $15 to $500 monthly.
For standard users, paid subscriptions remain optional rather than mandatory. The Plus and Meta One subscriptions primarily target users seeking enhanced control and expanded features, particularly influencers and businesses. Paid subscribers will gain access to features such as the ability to spotlight Stories for additional views, extend Story duration by twenty-four hours, add custom reactions including Super Hearts, create additional pinned chats in WhatsApp and access other premium capabilities.
The Plus tier also includes data-focused features allowing subscribers to view Story and Reel rewatch counts, create unlimited audience lists for specific posts and search through viewer lists. Additionally, paid subscribers can post content more privately without automatically appearing in follower feeds if desired.
The subscription launch coincides with significant organizational changes at Meta. Breitbart News recently reported that in conjunction with a massive layoff, Meta has reassigned thousands of employees to AI-focused roles:
According to an internal memo from Janelle Gale, Meta’s head of human resources, the reassigned employees will be distributed across four new organizations dedicated to building AI tools and applications. These new organizational structures will utilize what Gale described as “A.I. native design structures” and will feature a flatter management structure compared to other areas within the company. Additional details about the specific roles will be communicated to employees on Wednesday, coinciding with the planned layoff notifications.
The restructuring “will make us more productive and make the work more rewarding,” Gale wrote in the memo. Meta declined to provide further commentary on the organizational changes beyond the internal communication.
The workforce reassignment precedes the elimination of roughly 8,000 positions scheduled for Wednesday. Meta, which operates Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, employed more than 78,000 people at the end of 2025. The company had informed workers in late April that job cuts were forthcoming as part of its broader strategy to improve operational efficiency while simultaneously investing substantial resources in AI development.
Read more at CNET here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of AI, free speech, and online censorship.
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