Facebook is testing the link posting limit for professional accounts and pages

In a new experiment, Meta is limiting the number of links users can post to Facebook, unless they have a paid Meta Verified subscription.

Over the past week, many users have spotted Meta testing, which affects link posting. Social media strategist Matt Navarra noted that users in part of the test could only post two links unless they paid for a Meta Verified subscription, which starts at $14.99 per month.

According to the screenshot posted by Navarra, users can still post affiliate links, comments, and links to Meta platform posts, including Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.

The company confirmed the test to TechCrunch and said it affects people using Pro mode and Facebook Pages. Pro mode allows you to turn your profile into a creator profile while making your content eligible for discovery by a wider audience.

“This is a limited test to understand whether the ability to publish an increased volume of linked posts adds additional value to Meta’s verified subscribers,” a Meta spokesperson told TechCrunch.

This would directly impact content creators and brands who post links from their blogs or other platforms to reach a wider audience.

The company said it is trying to figure out how it can add more value to Meta Verified subscribers, and this test is one such experiment to enhance that paid plan. The company added that currently, publishers are not included in this test. He also mentioned that users can still post links in comments, and they will not be affected by this limit.

In its third-quarter transparency report, Meta said that more than 98% of feed views in the US come from posts without any links. However, it is not clear whether this signal prompted the company to experiment with restrictions on sharing links. The company said that the majority of 1.9% views on linked posts came from the page they followed. Linked posts shared by friends and groups were minimal.

The same report noted that YouTube and TikTok, along with GoFundMe, were the top domains among posted links. With the new link posting limit test, creators and brands will be forced to post content from other Meta platforms if they reach the limit, or stop posting altogether if they don’t want to pay for a subscription.

With artificial intelligence taking over the Internet, there is a heated debate about the link-based web. Summary AI and research into it have impacted the publishing industry negatively. In the past few years, social networks like X have demoted linked posts to encourage users to post content on platforms locally.