Meta Starts Testing Premium Instagram Subscription in the Philippines

Social media apps have steadily rolled out paid subscription tiers, and it looks like Instagram will soon be joining the flock. Last March 30, Meta confirmed to news outlets that they’ve started testing a premium subscription on the platform.

According to user feedback, its beta version, which is heavily focused on enhancing the IG Story experience, is now available to select users in Mexico, Japan, and the Philippines. Accounts who got the update can avail a free trial for one month.

If you’ve ever wished your Story post could stay up longer (because its intended audience hasn’t seen it yet) or that you could view an IG Story without the owner knowing, then you’re in luck. Reportedly called Instagram Plus, its paid features include opening a Story anonymously and keeping your own Story up for another 24 hours.

Premium subscribers can also get insights on who’s viewed their Story multiple times. Additionally, if you need to express extra approval for your friends’ post, you can tap on a “Superlike” button that will show up as an animation on their end.

Soon, it might also be possible to push your upload to the front of your followers’ Stories tray. Paying users can do this with a Spotlight feature that can be used once a week.

The Close Friends list is getting an upgrade, too. Subscribers will be given free rein to make as many lists as they want, so you can group certain people together—like your workmates, family, or IG-dump-worthy BFFs—and have the option to only share your Story with them.

If you want to unlock all of this, feedback from test users report that the subscription is priced at P65 in the Philippines.

That said, there’s no word yet on when Meta will actually be launching these exclusive add-ons across all Instagram accounts. Right now, their priority is to continue with the trial run, which will eventually decide whether a premium tier is something users actually want or not.