Meta tests paywalling Facebook link-sharing features for creators

Are you a creator who shares links on Facebook? Be sure not to go over your monthly quota.

Some creators on Facebook are receiving a notification that they will be limited to posting a certain number of links in organic posts each month, unless they subscribed to Meta Verified for $14.99 per month.

“This is a limited test to understand whether the ability to publish an increased volume of posts with links add additional value for Meta Verified subscribers,” Meta told social media consultant Matt Navarra, who initially posted a screenshot of the notification on Meta-owned Threads.

The screenshot posted by Navarra says that creators are limited to two link shares per month; however, Meta has since stated that the number of monthly links for non-verified creators varies as part of the test. According to the notification, Meta gives creators a limited number of link shares per month, and if they go unused, they do not rollover to the next month.

Regular Facebook profiles, which the vast majority of its users have, are currently not affected by the test. Meta is limiting this link limit experiment to users utilizing Facebook Pages and Facebook profiles in professional mode. Facebook Pages and profiles set to professional mode are typically used by businesses, creators, and other public figures.

For those who are affected, links remain unlimited for URLs to Meta properties such as Instagram, WhatsApp, or other internal Facebook links. In addition, the notification also says Meta exempts links posted in the comments of a post, which means those are currently unlimited, too.

As Meta said in its statement, the company is trying to add more features to the Meta Verified paid subscription product by paywalling links on Facebook. 

However, as Navarra points out, it's likely that Meta is also trying to test the Meta Verified badge as a "trust signal" so that users come to expect a certain level of trustworthiness from profiles and pages with verified. As Mashable has reported, the company has been experiencing an uptick in scam ads on Facebook in particular. But, as many have experienced on Elon Musk's X, many scammers and disinformation spreaders are more than willing to pay a monthly fee for a verified checkmark badge.