The announcement came on May 27, 2026 (a Wednesday), with a global rollout beginning around that time. These are consumer-facing premium tiers designed for power users, creators, and those wanting extra customization and analytics—separate from the existing Meta Verified service (which focuses on verification, impersonation protection, and support).
Pricing
- Instagram Plus and Facebook Plus: $3.99 per month each.
- WhatsApp Plus: $2.99 per month.
Key Features
Instagram Plus (and similarly for Facebook Plus) emphasizes Stories, audience insights, and customization:
- Extended Stories (up to 48 hours instead of 24).
- Spotlight one Story per week for boosted visibility (appears first in followers’ feeds).
- Unlimited custom audience lists for Stories (beyond Close Friends).
- Detailed Story analytics: See rewatch counts, search viewer lists, etc.
- Ghost/anonymous Story viewing (watch without appearing as a viewer; also preview your own anonymously).
- Post directly to profile/highlights without showing in followers’ feeds.
- Super Heart animated reactions.
- Custom app icons, profile bio fonts, and extra profile pins.
WhatsApp Plus focuses on messaging personalization: app themes, custom ringtones, premium stickers, additional pinned chats, list customization, and more.
Meta’s head of product, Naomi Gleit, announced it via video on Instagram, noting that more features would be added over time.
Broader Context (Meta One)
Meta is branding its expanding subscription efforts under Meta One. This includes testing additional paid plans for:
- Meta AI (tiered access for more compute, advanced reasoning, image/video generation).
- Creators and businesses (higher tiers with boosted visibility, advanced analytics, scheduling tools, etc.).
This move helps Meta diversify revenue beyond advertising, especially as it invests heavily in AI.
The rollout is happening progressively, so availability may vary by region and account. If you’re interested, check the app settings or in-app prompts for subscription options. These plans are optional—core features remain free.
