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According to TechCrunch, Meta will soon roll out a vast array of new features it’s planning to weld onto the Instagram, WhatsApp, and Facebook apps in various configurations.
But you’ll have to pay for them.
TechCrunch says multiple approaches to packaging premium features are in the works, and that feature bundles will be made available across the three apps, with each bundle distinct from the others.
Following the rollout of X’s paid verification program, Meta introduced Meta Verified, which allowed users to pay $11.99-per-month for a verification badge and some added security—so it was for influencers and celebrities, basically. This wave of supposed premium features, by contrast, would be aimed at enhancing (in theory) the experience of average users by adding things like productivity enhancements and video generation.
One or more subscriptions will reportedly involve Manus, the maker of AI agents recently purchased by Meta. In case you need a refresher, at the time of Meta’s $2 billion acquisition deal, Manus was Singapore-based, but it was originally founded in China. Meta reassured the world that no ties to China would remain once the transaction was complete.
Noted app sleuth Alessandro Paluzzi claims to have discovered a Manus feature in Instagram already buried in the code. That feature, if real, would prompt users to “research, create, and build with Manus.”
Another set of premium features Paluzzi claims to have uncovered is a great deal more middle school-ish. It involves being able to highlight which followed users don’t follow you back, and allows you to stealthily look at stories without anyone knowing.
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Source: Gizmodo