Instagram Testing Subscriptions That Let Users Pay for Content From Creators
Instagram today began rolling out subscription options that are designed to allow Instagram users to pay for exclusive Instagram Live videos and Stories from their preferred creators.
As noted by TechCrunch, Instagram is testing the subscription feature with a selection of 10 U.S. creators, each of whom can choose their subscription price. Subscription pricing ranges from $0.99 per month to $99.99 per month.
Signs of subscription plan options first surfaced in November in the form of Instagram Subscription options as in-app purchases in the Instagram app, and these subscription purchases are now live for some people.
Instagram users who subscribe to a creator will have access to subscriber-only stories, live streams, and other content. Subscribers will receive purple badges that will allow them to stand out in comments and direct messages.
For the time being, all of the money earned from subscriptions will go directly to creators, and Instagram will not begin taking a cut until "at least 2023," with the aim of helping creators "make a living."
Popular Stories
Apple today introduced its first two physical products of 2026: a second-generation AirTag and the Black Unity Connection Braided Solo Loop for the Apple Watch.
Read our coverage of each announcement to learn more:Apple Unveils New AirTag With Longer Range, Louder Speaker, and More
Apple Introduces New Black Unity Apple Watch BandBoth the new AirTag and the Black Unity Connection Braided...
Apple today confirmed to Reuters that it has acquired Q.ai, an Israeli startup that is working on artificial intelligence technology for audio.
Apple paid close to $2 billion for Q.ai, according to sources cited by the Financial Times. That would make this Apple's second-biggest acquisition ever, after it paid $3 billion for the popular headphone and audio brand Beats in 2014.
Q.ai has...
Alongside iOS 26.2.1, Apple today released an updated version of iOS 12 for devices that are still running that operating system update, eight years after the software was first released.
iOS 12.5.8 is available for the iPhone 5s and the iPhone 6, meaning Apple is continuing to support these devices for 13 and 12 years after launch, respectively. The iPhone 5s came out in September 2013,...
Update: Apple Creator Studio is now available.
Apple Creator Studio launches this Wednesday, January 28. The all-in-one subscription provides access to the Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro, Pixelmator Pro, Motion, Compressor, and MainStage apps, with U.S. pricing set at $12.99 per month or $129 per year.
A subscription to Apple Creator Studio also unlocks "intelligent features" and "premium...
On an earnings call with equity analysts today, Apple CEO Tim Cook responded to fast-rising RAM and SSD storage chip prices in the supply chain.
Cook said that rising memory chip prices had a "minimal impact" on Apple's gross margin in the fourth quarter of the 2025 calendar year, but he does expect a "bit more of an impact" on the company's gross margin in the current quarter.
Cook added ...
