Meta launches Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp subscriptions

Post by salamandars » Tue, Jun 02, 2026, 1:04 AM UTC

abenga wrote: post #483

pyrale wrote: post #472

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd suggest getting them money through patreon, kofi or whatever patrons system they use instead. That's much safer for them than YT ad money and helps them feel less pressure when they get demonetized or whatnot.

I probably watch too many channels to pay them each outside youtube, it will become quickly logistically unmanageable, if not unaffordable. The maximum I can do is probably 5 channels or so.

Post by fakedang » Tue, Jun 02, 2026, 2:36 AM UTC

douglee650 wrote: post #455

1vuio0pswjnm7 wrote: post #224

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Meta isn't going to stop harvesting all your information just because you pay for a subscription, they'll harvest [and sell] your data AND take your money." (Meta sells access not data) Google has been doing this for a while with YouTube The data collection and surveillance will of course be used to support online advertising services. The ads can be delivered outside YouTube by other Alphabet business units or part…

I pay YouTube Premium and get no ads there. It's totally worth it for me. I get that they aren't performing less tracking on me, and they've labeled me as "will pay subscriptions for stuff". But I get so much out of YouTube that's it's a no-brainer.

Post by abenga » Tue, Jun 02, 2026, 7:01 AM UTC

salamandars wrote: post #511

abenga wrote: post #483

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I probably watch too many channels to pay them each outside youtube, it will become quickly logistically unmanageable, if not unaffordable. The maximum I can do is probably 5 channels or so.

If there are that many channels you watch regularly, what slice of the pie does each one get from your youtube subscription, a few cents? You could possibly pick one channel you like each month and give it a one-time $5 donation, which would be equivalent to years of ad revenue from a single viewer.

Post by charcircuit » Tue, Jun 02, 2026, 10:18 AM UTC

fsflover wrote: post #360

charcircuit wrote: post #346

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And if the federated server you are on goes down. You lose everything. If the federated server you are on steals your information or censors you there is nothing you can do.

You have to choose a server that you trust. In centralized systems, you have no choice at all. If you can't find a trusted server, you can set up your own, ask a friend to do it for you, or pay someone to do this job. You are not bound to an artificial monopoly.

Post by damnesian » Tue, Jun 02, 2026, 4:49 PM UTC

sensanaty wrote: post #134

qqtt wrote: post #98

I'm going to go against the grain here and say this is probably a positive thing for Meta products, and honestly every other "free" service to provide these kinds of revenue avenues. How many times do we hear things like "if the product is free, you are the product" - well, the consequence of that is development resources tend to be pulled into directions that benefit advertisers. By having material subscription reve…

You paying just signals that you're someone to push more ads to and to harvest more data on, since it means you have disposable income to spend on something as useless as instagram or facebook. Meta isn't going to stop harvesting all your information just because you pay for a subscription, they'll harvest and sell your data AND take your money.