Would you pay $100 to Facebook message a stranger?

Facebook is testing a new money-spinner whereby you pay to send messages to people you aren't friends with.

Chancing its arm, Facebook has offered some users the option to pay $100 for the privilege.

That might be a price you'd consider paying if you were a crazed One Directioner getting the opportunity to message Harry Styles, but will probably seem a bit steep if you're just hoping to get in touch with an average Joe you think you might know from school but you're not 100 per cent sure.

Extreme

The social network explains that it's trying out "some extreme price points" to see "what works to filter spam" - some users have been given the option of paying $1.

It looks as though this monetary messaging simply means your note will be delivered to a person's inbox rather than the wily 'Other' folder which houses communiques from people you aren't directly connected to on the site and group updates.

The $100 price tag first popped up at the tail end of 2012, when the keen Mark Zuckerberg fans over at Mashable discovered they could buy the privilege of messaging the Facebook founder's inbox by dropping a Franklin on it, but it seems lesser Facebook users are now generating the same value.

It's possible that users will get a bespoke value based on how popular they are on Facebook, as is the case with promoted profile posts.

Facebook really is dead set on wringing money out of you, one way or another.

Via The Verge, Mashable