Hasta La Gadget!

Netflix might offer cheaper ad-supported plans in the coming years. In the company’s most recent earnings call, co-CEO Reed Hastings has revealed that the streaming giant is currently working on the offering and that it will be finalizing details for those plans “over the next year or two.” Hastings said he finds ads complex and he’s a huge fan of the simplicity of subscriptions, but giving consumers who don’t mind watching ads the option to pay less “makes a lot of sense.”

And it could make a lot of sense for the company, too. The service lost around 200,000 subscribers in the first quarter of 2022, a development it blamed on stiffer competition, inability to expand in some territories due to technological limitations and account sharing. Apparently, 222 million households are paying for Netflix, but over 100 million more are sharing those accounts. 

Back in March, Netflix started testing a feature in Chile, Costa Rica and Peru that allowed subscribers to add two “sub-members,” who’ll get their own log-ins and profiles, for $3. It may just be a fraction of what a full membership costs, but at least Netflix is getting something from people who’d normally just borrow their friends’ accounts.

Hastings clarified during the call that the ad-supported memberships will be added as tiers and members who don’t mind paying full subscription fees don’t have to be subjected to advertisements. “It is pretty clear that it is working for Hulu, Disney is doing it, HBO did it. We don’t have any doubt that it works,” he said. The executive also added that Netflix will merely be a publisher and that it will not track user data to match ads like some of its competitors do.

Instagram is rolling out the option to create and donate to fundraisers through Reels. Users in more than 30 countries can now add a link for people to donate to more than 1.5 million nonprofits. The fundraiser tool has been available in Stories and on livestreams for the past couple of years.

The feature was announced as part of Meta’s Earth Day efforts. Meta says that more than 4 million people have donated over $150 million through Instagram and Facebook to support environmental protection and nonprofits fighting against climate change. The most popular environmental causes, based on the overall number of donors, are The Ocean Cleanup, World Wildlife Fund and (one that’s close to my heart) Sheldrick Wildlife Trust.

Most donations made on Instagram last year were under $20. Meta covers the payment processing fees for charitable fundraisers, so every penny that users donate goes to nonprofits.

Elsewhere, Meta announced that it’s adding more features to its Climate Science Center. It will highlight actions people can take in their day-to-day lives to combat climate change. The center will also shine a spotlight on data visualizations showing country-level emissions. The Climate Science Center is now available in 150 countries.

Across Instagram, Facebook and Messenger, Meta has released stickers and profile frames to help people show their support for environmental causes. In addition, the company revealed the nine organizations that will receive funding from a $1 million grant program to help them fight climate misinformation. Meta also announced the Sustainability Media Academy, a project to help Asia-based journalists build expertise and develop authority on sustainability issues.

“You’ve gone too far,” Eric Bolling told his former Fox News colleague.

Google is preparing to update its Nearby Share feature. Users will soon be able to easily share files between their own devices using the same Google account.