Instagram is preparing to launch in-app subscriptions, allowing users to pay for exclusive content from their favorite creators as the platform looks to move away from conventional ads for monetization, recent App Store listings have suggested.
In May of this year, Instagram head Adam Mosseri said in an interview with The Information that the platform was exploring the idea of subscriptions, explaining there are "different ways to facilitate a financial relationship between a fan and a creator." "Being able to subscribe to some differentiated or unique or exclusive content actually feels more additive as a fan than seeing an ad," he added.
Now, Instagram seems to be preparing to put its ambitions into action. As reported by TechCrunch, Instagram's App Store listing has recently gained new in-app subscriptions, as first spotted by Sensor Tower. The new in-app purchases are listed as "Instagram Subscriptions" for $0.99 and $4.99. Previously, Instagram had only listed Instagram Badge as an in-app purchase.
In practice, the new subscription would let users pay their favorite creators for exclusive content not seen by non-paying users. According to screenshots shared by reverse engineer Alessandro Paluzzi, a subscription will include a "Member Badge," which gifts subscribers a "special badge" next to their username, and "Exclusive content."
Subscriptions are just one of the multiple features Instagram has in the pipeline to expand monetization opportunities for creators on the platform. As also revealed by Paluzzi, Instagram is working on "Exclusive Stories," which, as the name suggests, will offer paying followers access to exclusive stories.
Wednesday February 26, 2025 6:32 am PST by Joe Rossignol
In an all-caps post on Truth Social today, U.S. President Donald Trump said Apple should fully end its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies.
Tim Cook meeting with President Trump in 2017
"APPLE SHOULD GET RID OF DEI RULES, NOT JUST MAKE ADJUSTMENTS TO THEM," he wrote.
Trump's post comes one day after Apple held its annual shareholders meeting, during which a majority of...
Wednesday February 26, 2025 7:15 am PST by Joe Rossignol
In a recent press release, Apple confirmed that iOS 18.4 will be released in April.
From the Apple News+ Food announcement:Coming with iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4 in April, Apple News+ subscribers will have access to Apple News+ Food, a new section that will feature tens of thousands of recipes — as well as stories about restaurants, healthy eating, kitchen essentials, and more — from the...
The Apple Watch Ultra 3 is expected to launch later this year, arriving two years after the previous model with a series of improvements.
While no noticeable design changes are expected for the third generation since the company tends to stick with the same Apple Watch design through three generations before changing it, there are a series of internal upgrades on the way.
By the time the ...
Tuesday February 25, 2025 2:58 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Apple is making significant headway on its long-rumored foldable iPhone, with a new report suggesting the company has achieved a major breakthrough by effectively eliminating the screen crease that plagues current foldable devices.
According to Korean publication ETNews, Apple is finalizing its component suppliers for the foldable iPhone, with the selection process expected to be completed...
Tuesday February 25, 2025 1:18 pm PST by Juli Clover
Multiple iPhone owners today noticed a pronunciation processing issue that causes the word "Trump" to momentarily show up when using dictation to send a message with the word "racist."
In some cases, when speaking the word racist through the iPhone's built-in dictation feature, the iPhone briefly interprets the spoken word as "Trump" and "Trump" text shows up in the Messages app before being ...
Monday February 24, 2025 9:14 am PST by Joe Rossignol
According to a post on X today from a leaker known as Kosutami, Apple plans to launch AirPods Pro 3 in May or June this year.
The leaker also claimed that an AirTag 2 will launch around the same time.
Kosutami is best known as a collector of prototype Apple hardware, but they have occasionally shared accurate information about Apple's future product plans. For example, they accurately...
Monday February 24, 2025 6:11 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple plans to launch a second-generation AirTag in May or June this year, according to a post today from a leaker known as Kosutami.
Bloomberg's Mark Gurman previously reported that a new AirTag would be released in mid-2025. May or June would align with that timeframe.
Below, we recap three new features rumored for the AirTag 2:
With a second-generation Ultra Wideband chip, the...
Sunday February 23, 2025 2:23 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
The first beta of iOS 18.4 is now available, and it includes a small but useful change for CarPlay.
As we noted in our list of iOS 18.4 features, CarPlay now shows a third row of icons, up from two rows previously. However, this change is only visible in vehicles with a larger center display. For example, a MacRumors Forums member noticed the change in a Toyota Tundra, which can be equipped...
It's idol worship at every conceivable level. Humans in a perpetual loop of idolisation of other humans. An expanding influencer class and a misled influenced class, neither with tangible merit and both deserving pity. It has become the mark of a wise man not in what he engages in, but what he avoids engaging in. The avoidance of participation in these social media systems, with their ego-generating algorithmic manipulation, may just become an authentic indicator of a person's true intelligence and level of consciousness going forward.
Every service will become a mish mash of TikTok, Twitter, Instagram, Patreon, Snapchat and YouTube. There will be no discernable difference between them and the only people to lose out will be the creators and everyone who uses them. All unique content will go and the same content will be uploaded to all.
