Instagram may soon bring Twitter Blue-like paid subscription: Details
1 min read . Updated: 05 Feb 2023, 09:51 AM IST
Premium- A developer has discovered reference in code snippets about the paid subscription servcice on Instagram.
Meta-owned Instagram is reportedly planning to bring a paid subscription model for its users. According to developer and reverse engineer Alessandro Paluzzi (via TechCrunch), the photo sharing and messaging app is working on paid verification services similar to Twitter Blue. The leakster has discovered reference in code snippets about the upcoming feature.
“Instagram is working on a subscription plan which includes the blue badge," he writes in a post on microblogging site Twitter. Paluzzi also shared screenshots in the app’s code with TechCrunch. The screenshots include a line that says “IG_NME_PAID_BLUE_BADGE_IDV" and “FB_NME_PAID_BLUE_BADGE_IDV."
While one can explicitly see words like Paid, Blue and Badge in this line. The ‘IDV’, Paluzzi says, could mean identity verification.
The developer also found other references to a new type of subscription product that hadn’t been there previously. The same references, according to the TechCrunch report, were also in one of the latest builds of the Facebook app, he noted.
However, there is no official announcement from Instagram and till that happens, this piece of information must be taken with a pinch of salt.
“At the moment there are only a few small references in the code about this, nothing visible so, until I post a screenshot that can confirm my assumption, consider it a mere rumor," Paluzzi says.
Earlier in January, Instagram announced a new feature for its users. Called the Quiet mode, the feature is aimed to help encourage users to fix boundaries with friends and followers. It is aimed to reduce the users’ anxiety about spending time away from the app by silencing incoming notifications and auto-replying to direct messages (DMs).
“Teens have told us that they sometimes want to take time for themselves and might be looking for more ways to focus at night, while studying and during school. You can easily customize your Quiet mode hours to fit your schedule and once the feature is turned off, we’ll show you a quick summary of notifications so you can catch up on what you missed," the company wrote in a blog post.
