On January 26, Meta announced that it was going to test premium subscriptions across its apps. The subscriptions will offer exclusive features and expanded AI tools, while ad-supported versions remain free.
Under the test, users are presented with a clear choice between two paths. People can subscribe to use Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp without ads, or continue using the services for free while agreeing to ongoing data use for advertising purposes.
Meta claims the subscriptions will “unlock productivity, creativity, and AI-powered features,” with each app receiving its own set of paid tools rather than a single bundled plan. The company isn’t committing to one configuration and plans in order to experiment with different feature sets and pricing models over time.
Imagine if every state had a different cell phone carrier or go back even further to when it was long distance even just blocks or cities over. Now imagine a technology comes in that doesn’t care what carrier you are on, or if it’s long distance.
That is kind of what happened to countries. Especially if you have people who work in one and live in another or have clients in another.
So even though now maybe it isn’t long distance, or carriers talk to each other, everyone is used to the way they have been doing it for free.
Perhaps this new European government push to get away from American Big Tech will free you guys of this burden