Meta introduces paid subscriptions for WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook globally
Meta is introducing paid subscription plans for WhatsApp, Instagram, and Facebook globally.
The basic "Plus" versions start at ₹99 a month, while advanced Meta One Plus and Premium plans (with extra AI features) go up to ₹1,939 a month.
It's all part of Meta's push to cover rising AI development costs.
Meta subscriptions target $125-$145B AI capex
With 3.5 billion people using these apps daily worldwide, Meta hopes subscriptions will help fund its massive $125 billion to $145 billion 2026 capital expenditure forecast for AI compute infrastructure, data centers, and higher component costs.
In India, they're teaming up with Reliance to build a big AI data center in Gujarat.
Experts say these subscriptions could bring in $20 billion a year by 2030.
It's not all smooth sailing: some worry about whether users will actually pay and how employees are handling all the changes inside Meta.