According to research firm Sensor Tower (via TechCrunch), Instagram added these in-app purchases to its US App Store listing last week. It first added the $4.99 option on November 1, with the $0.99 option following a couple of days later. Users in the UK have also reportedly spotted the new Instagram Subscriptions. Instagram doesn’t explain the purpose of these in-app purchases, at least not just yet. But they should do what the name implies, i.e. serve as a way of monetization for creators. Users will be able to subscribe to their accounts for exclusive, subscriber-only content. If it feels like you’ve heard this before, that’s because you have. Twitter in September launched Super Follows, which lets users charge their “Super Followers” for exclusive content. Instagram itself has been talking about such a subscriber-only feature for some time now. Back in May, Instagram head Adam Mosseri had said that the company is exploring subscriptions. Instagram itself confirmed the following month that it is working on an “Exclusive Stories” feature. These stories will be only visible to users who have paid for them. It appears the new “Instagram Subscriptions” in-app purchase is the final product.
Instagram may soon roll out its subscription feature
Content subscription service providers like Patreon and OnlyFans have gained huge popularity in recent years. These platforms allow creators to charge users for exclusive content. As such, many creators who are already active on more established social media platforms such as Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, and YouTube have also started offering subscriber-only content on those platforms. All of these companies are now exploring ways to let creators publish exclusive content within the platform, alongside the free content. Twitter has already launched its Super Follows feature. It appears Instagram will follow suit soon. Instagram usually tests new features among a small group of users before making them available to everyone. Considering that the company has officially added these in-app purchases to its app listing, this feature may not be too far off now from a test rollout. Users in the US and the UK will likely receive it first before the global rollout. We will keep you updated.
