Instagram is on the way to adding a subscriptions feature through which creators can earn money on the social media platform. With the introduction of creator subscriptions, viewers may have to pay to see Stories or access other content or media which depends on individual creators on the Meta-owned app which was formerly known as Facebook. Instagram’s Apple App Store listing in the US and India presently shows an Instagram Subscriptions category under the In-App Purchases section, pointing towards the wider launch of the paid feature while some social media users also confirmed on Twitter about the new in-app purchase option also appeared in the United Kingdom.
The Instagram app for iOS is updated with new in-app purchases with the name Instagram Subscriptions which range between $0.99 and $4.99 in the US as first spotted by TechCrunch. The same is live in App Store India with a price plan of Rs. 89 per month.
The first Instagram Subscriptions in-app purchase was added to Instagram’s US App Store listing on November 1 at the price point of $4.99 while the $0.99 in-app purchase was added on November 3 as observed by TechCrunch.
Till now, Instagram has not yet officially announced the release of these in-app purchases. These Instagram subscriptions may allow influencers and content creators on the photo-sharing app to sell access to exclusive material.
A similar feature was introduced by Twitter earlier this year called Super Follows which allows the creators to generate monthly revenue by sharing subscriber-only content with their followers. In February 2021, the company had outlined plans, and in September it was introduced for iOS users in the US and Canada in the first phase. As per plans, creators can set a monthly subscription of $2.99, $4.99, or $9.99 per month.
Presently, there’s no official word about Instagram subscriptions from Meta. Thus, it would be interesting to see how the company introduces the same.