The last thing I need is another subscription plan. I already have too many and haven’t done the edit to trim them down like I said I would when I made my plans for a better, brighter and more responsible 2026. By the way, how are your resolutions going? In any case, Instagram and WhatsApp might soon start charging you—if you want premium features, that is. Facebook, too, but that’s just for you to know when your mom asks whether or not she needs to upgrade.

Parent company Meta plans to test new subscriptions that give people access to exclusive features on its apps, the company told TechCrunch. They said the new subscriptions will “unlock more productivity and creativity, along with expanded AI capabilities.” Meta doesn’t appear to be locked into one strategy, noting that it will test a variety of subscription features and bundles, and that each app subscription will have a distinct set of exclusive features.

The paid subscription tiers, which will start showing up "in the coming months," will give users access to these features, as well as more control over how they share and connect, the report said. However, the apps’ core experiences will remain free for everyone. That’s a relief.

There’s still no official word on what this will ultimately look like, but leaker Alessandro Paluzzi managed to catch a glimpse of Instagram settings pointing to Manus AI, an AI agent that Meta had acquired in December 2025 for $2 billion. Manus could become one of the features that are only available to paid Instagram subscribers.

TechCrunch says that Meta is taking a two-fold approach to Manus. The company is going to integrate Manus into Meta products, while continuing to sell standalone subscriptions to businesses. Meta has already been spotted working on adding a shortcut to Manus AI on Instagram, according to a screenshot shared by reverse engineer Alessandro Paluzzi, who often finds unreleased features while they’re still under development.

Anger at Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem coursed throughout the Senate on Tuesday, even among the lawmakers who voted to confirm her. The top three House Democrats came out in support of an effort to impeach Noem, part of a growing chorus in the party calling for her ouster after federal immigration agents shot and killed two people in Minneapolis this month.

Many disagreed on whether her departure would change the administration's immigration policy. But Republicans, for the first time, broke ranks with President Donald Trump on Noem. “She should be out of a job,” said Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina, who voted to confirm Noem. More than three-quarters of House Democrats now back impeachment, Axios reports.

Noem reportedly met with Trump at the White House this week on the heels of the president dialing back rhetoric over the killing of protesters on her watch. On Tuesday, the president said “no” when a reporter at the White House asked him if Noem would leave her post. Noem is doing “a very good job,” Trump told reporters before a planned trip to Iowa. Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin told CNBC that, “DHS enforces the laws Congress passes, period. If certain members don’t like those laws, changing them is literally their job.”

Not surprising, but still newsworthy: The United States population grew last year at one of the slowest rates in its history, according to new numbers released on Tuesday by the Census Bureau. The immigration numbers plunged by more than 50 percent from the previous year, under the aggressive anti-immigration policies of President Trump. That, and the birthrate continued its nearly two-decade long decline.

The slowdown comes after a year of breakneck gains; the U.S. population grew by 1% (3.2 million people) from 2023-2024. And because of the time period covered, the new numbers capture only the first few months of Trump’s second term—reflecting his early immigration efforts, but not more recent and violent surges. So we can expect the numbers to dwindle even further. Census forecasters say if current trends continue, net immigration could drop by another million people in the current year.

The figures also show five states lost population in the most recent year—Vermont, Hawaii, West Virginia, New Mexico and California—up from two the prior year. As for the fastest-growing states? South Carolina saw the highest year-over-year increase of 1.5% (fueled largely by domestic migration), followed by Idaho (+1.4%) and North Carolina (+1.3%). But Texas, Florida and North Carolina added the most people in pure numbers.