Meta has launched paid subscriptions on Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp

Meta has announced the launch of paid subscriptions for Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp. Users are promised additional features and enhanced capabilities in exchange for a monthly fee.

According to Notebookcheck, the cost of an Instagram Plus and Facebook Plus subscription is $4 per month, while WhatsApp Plus costs $3.

One of the main features of Instagram Plus is the ability to view other people’s “Stories” anonymously. The content creator will not see the user in the view list.

Paid users will also be able to post Stories for 48 hours instead of the standard 24, as well as gain access to advanced view statistics.

Facebook Plus offers similar features, while WhatsApp Plus provides custom themes, new app icons, premium stickers, additional ringtones, and the ability to pin more chats.

Meta emphasized that the basic versions of the services will remain free. At the same time, ads will remain in the apps even for paid subscribers.

The company also did not introduce a single package for all services at once—each subscription must be purchased separately.

Meta CEO and billionaire Mark Zuckerberg has decided to shut down one of the company’s largest and most costly projects—the Horizon Worlds metaverse—which has incurred losses of $80 billion. Support for the VR platform on Quest devices will end by mid-June, and the app will disappear from the app store by the end of March.

In addition, Meta Platforms Inc. announced a price increase for its Quest VR devices due to a significant rise in production costs for high-performance equipment. The changes took effect on April 19 and will affect markets in the U.S., the U.K., Europe, and Japan.