Facebook is a social network founded by Mark Zuckerberg in the 2000s. He created the platform in his student room during his studies. Years later it became one of the most famous networks in the world with billions of users in all countries. Of course, over the years of its existence, it has undergone several modifications.
One of them was the purchase of Instagram. Now both the photo social network and Facebook own Mark. For this reason, several “Face” users have migrated to Instagram. In recent years, however, both social networks have suffered from a drastic drop in sales. So they were forced to take action.
The change was announced in two countries and is set to be phased out in the rest of the world. Keep reading this article to find out what’s changing on Facebook and Instagram.
Facebook and Instagram are paid Credit: @jeanedeoliveirafotografia / pronatec.pro.br
Facebook and Instagram Charge for Subscriptions: See How the Decision Affects Your Life
First, it is important to explain how social networks like Facebook and Instagram are billed. As previously mentioned, a drop in sales prompted Meta, the company that controls social networks, to announce a new measure that has had a major impact.
For a long time, Facebook and Instagram’s revenue came from one source: advertising. Businesses pay to advertise on platforms with greater reach in their posts. In addition, they receive exclusive information about the customer’s profile, e.g. Therefore, social networks target ads to customers in a way that impacts them the most.
Although the practice generates returns for businesses, there has been a discussion about user privacy. Finally, Facebook and Instagram marketing agencies made people’s data available. So there was pressure from society on social networks to change their privacy policies. Apple, for example, has already messed with Meta for this reason.
In practice, there was a decline in sales on Facebook and Instagram. Additionally, TikTok Marks prompted social media users to migrate to the Chinese platform. With the competition, the revenue fell even further.
See Meta’s solution
Therefore, Facebook and Instagram charge a monthly subscription. Values are $12 or $15. Users who opt for the subscription can verify their accounts and have access to personalized services in case there are problems with their accounts, such as hackers.
Also see: TikTok pays users who post THIS type of video
After all, is it worth signing up for?
The service was only available in New Zealand and Australia. Therefore, it is still too early to say whether it is worth subscribing to Facebook. According to Meta, the measure aims to implement more security for users of social networks. But such justification is questioned by experts.
In an interview with the Washington Post, cybersecurity expert Rachel Tobacco criticized the changes. For them, the measures only make the digital environment more dangerous, since it is enough to pay for account verification without going through the appropriate security processes.
Also see: Learn how to BLOCK your WhatsApp and make the app hackproof