A subscription service has emerged targeting users who want to know whether a specific person has viewed their social media. Image generated by ChatGPT.
A subscription service has emerged targeting users who want to know whether a specific person has viewed their social media. Image generated by ChatGPT.

"I think my ex-boyfriend has been checking my SNS even after we broke up," said A, a person in their 20s.

A new subscription service has arrived that notifies users when a specific person views their social media — catering to those curious about who visits their profiles and when.

According to the IT industry on Friday, Meta launched "Meta One," a bundled subscription service that consolidates the paid features available across its social media platforms, including alerts for specific visitors. Subscribers can receive notifications when someone they designate views their Instagram Stories, use custom fonts in direct messages, and access AI features.

The base plan, called "Core," is priced at $7.99 per month. Meta One covers Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp, with each platform offering its own set of features.

On Instagram, subscribers receive a separate notification whenever a specific person they have designated views their Stories — meaning they no longer have to scroll through a viewer list to check. They can also apply custom fonts to DMs and Stories, and preview DM content before opening it.

On Facebook, users can customize the app icon and Messenger interface to their liking. The plan also includes a "Super Like" reaction feature and more detailed analytics on Reels views and engagement.

On WhatsApp, subscribers gain access to exclusive themes, app icons and special-effect stickers, and can pin more chats to the top of their screen than free users. Meta said it also plans to test additional backup storage and a feature that mutes or hides chats during specific time periods.

The Meta logo. [Reuters]
The Meta logo. [Reuters]

The plan also raises the usage limits for AI features. Meta One subscribers can generate and edit images and videos using Meta AI more extensively than free users across all platforms. On Instagram, access to generative AI tools such as Restyle — which uses AI to edit photos and videos — will also be expanded.

Meta One also offers a higher-tier "Premium" plan, which includes all Core features along with the ability to generate larger volumes of AI content. It is priced at $19.99 per month.

Meta One consolidates the "Plus" subscriptions Meta launched earlier. In March, Meta introduced individual paid Plus plans for Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp. Instagram and Facebook were each priced at $3.99 per month, while WhatsApp was offered at $2.99 per month.

Industry observers say Meta launched the bundled service to diversify its revenue base beyond advertising. The move is seen as a strategy to monetize generative AI features — such as image and video generation, which require enormous computing resources — by charging heavy users, thereby recouping the cost of AI infrastructure investment.


chami@heraldcorp.com