Rumors of charging users a fee are causing a stir; what does a Facebook representative say?

After announcing plans to expand its ecosystem of paid subscription services across Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and AI products, Meta affirmed that the core experiences that billions of users are currently enjoying will remain free.

Speaking with a reporter from VTC News , a representative from Meta stated that the development of new subscription services aims to provide users with more advanced options, rather than replacing existing features on the platform.

"Meta is experimenting with and expanding new subscription services to offer more in-depth and enhanced uses of AI-integrated apps and wearables, while still maintaining core experiences that are free for everyone," a company representative shared.

The core features of Facebook remain free for billions of users worldwide. (Photo: Manh Hung)

Recently, Meta's Head of Product, Naomi Gleit, announced plans to expand subscription services globally.

Meta stated that it has been testing subscription features on Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp to improve how users express themselves and connect with others, such as profile customization, Stories insights, and Super Reactions. Following positive feedback from these tests, the company announced it will be rolling out Instagram Plus, Facebook Plus, and WhatsApp Plus subscription packages.

The social media service packages include Instagram Plus ($4/month), Facebook Plus ($4/month), and WhatsApp Plus ($3/month).

In addition to services for individual users, Meta is also actively testing optional professional subscription services for businesses and content creators, as well as AI-focused user experience services.

According to Meta, users generally expect to receive more value from the company's apps and experiences. Therefore, the company wants to continue exploring the benefits that subscription services can offer, while still keeping the core experiences that users love free.

Many social networks and platforms owned by Meta are familiar to Vietnamese people. (Photo: Manh Hung)

With its artificial intelligence tools, Meta says it will begin testing a "freemium" model for some advanced AI features, allowing users to use them for free within certain limits and pay for expanded usage. Initially, these limits will apply to the new Thinking mode on Meta AI, as well as image and video creation tools across the company's app ecosystem.

According to Meta, everyday AI usage needs remain free and there are no plans to change that. However, for features serving more creative or in-depth reasoning tasks, such as extended reasoning or AI-powered content creation, the company is experimenting with a monthly usage limit mechanism with a subscription option to increase the limit.

This approach is considered similar to many current AI services, where users can use it for free up to a certain extent and choose paid packages if their needs increase. The difference is that future service packages will be integrated with advanced social networking features that Meta has been testing on its platforms.

Source: https://vtcnews.vn/xon-xao-tin-thu-phi-nguoi-dung-dai-dien-facebook-noi-gi-ar1021430.html