Instagram is testing a new feature that will allow content creators to charge their followers to access exclusive content. Instagram Subscriptions will allow content creators to monetise their content on the heels of similar features on both Facebook and Twitter.

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Instagram made the announcement on Wednesday via a blog. It said that the feature will be first introduced to a small number of US-based creators. These include 10 athletes, creators, influencers and celebrities on the platform. Over the next few months, the feature will be extended to more creators.

Fans will be able to pay a monthly fee to access exclusive content like Subscriber Lives, Subscriber Stories and Subscriber Badges.

Meta, which owns Instagram, said that the move was to help creators earn a stable source of income on their platforms.

“With Instagram Subscriptions, creators can develop deeper connections with their most engaged followers and grow their recurring monthly income by giving subscribers access to exclusive content and benefits, all within the same platform where they interact with them already,” Instagram had stated in its blog.

“This (Instagram Subscriptions) will help creators earn more by offering benefits to their most engaged followers like access to exclusive Lives and Stories. I'm excited to keep building tools for creators to make a living doing creative work and to put these tools in more creators' hands soon,” added Meta-owner and CEO, Mark Zuckerberg in a Facebook post.

Meta has also clarified that it has no plans on taking any share of the revenue from subscriptions on both Facebook and Instagram at least until 2023.

With the rising popularity of membership-based subscription platforms like Patreon and OnlyFans, social media giants have been looking for ways to help creators monetise their content.

Facebook had introduced its own Subscriptions feature, then called fan Subscriptions, in 2020. Twitter has released a slew of various monetisation features including its own subscription service in the previous year, and now Instagram joins the ranks.

(Edited by : Thomas Abraham)