The Meta-owned Instagram is now developing a tool called ‘Gifts’ that enables creators to get paid through Reels in an effort to offer financial incentives to influencers on the network. A Business Insider story claims that a prototype of the function is now being tested within the organisation. The rumours of the feature, however, had been developing over the previous few months, and in July, tech researcher Alessandro Paluzzi revealed that Instagram was working on a new function called ‘content appreciation’.
If Instagram decides to follow other social media companies’ lead and incorporate revenue-generating features into the app, it wouldn’t be the first time that they have attempted to do so. Instagram’s Badges feature, which enables people to encourage their favourite artists during a live video, was actually introduced two years ago, in 2020. From $0.99 to $1.99 to $4.99, there are several price tiers for the badges.
Additionally, Twitter already has a tip jar function that was introduced in May of last year, similar to Instagram’s ‘Gift’ tool. In contrast, TikTok, a platform for short videos, started allowing viewers to tip content producers directly in December 2021. As WION revealed earlier this month, Meta was considering forming a new team with the goal of developing products with premium features for Facebook and Instagram.
The previous head of research at Meta, Pratiti Raychoudhury, is reportedly going to lead the new organisation, which will be termed ‘New Monetization Experiences’. Two of Meta’s rivals, Snap Inc. and Twitter Inc., have already introduced paid tiers to access more functionality. In contrast, John Hegeman, head of ads and business products at Meta, stated in an interview with the Verge that the firm is committed to expanding the advertisements business and has no plans to allow users to pay to turn off ads.
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