( Mashable ) -- The rumor that Facebook will suddenly start charging users to access the site has become one of the social media era 's perennial chain letters . While Facebook prominently advertises that its service is `` free and always will be '' on its homepage , it has n't stopped false rumors of a pay scheme from going viral on numerous occasions , most recently in conjunction with the major profile redesign that the site announced earlier this month . Given the ubiquity of these rumors , we thought it was worth exploring their origin -- and why we can guarantee Facebook will never charge you to use its service . A long history . Chain letters -- which date back to the days of snail mail -- have dogged nearly every online service that achieved critical mass . While they vary in the details , the general premise is that something negative will happen to your account unless you spread the message to your friends . On AIM , this took the form of IMs that needed to be shared with friends to avoid account deletion . On Friendster , rumors spread that the service was getting `` too crowded '' -- and hence , they needed to determine which accounts were active and remove those that were n't . On MySpace , word was that the service was getting so popular that the site would soon start charging members , and the only way to avoid the fees was to -- you guessed it -- forward the message to your friends . Of course , none of these situations ever actually materialized , but it did n't stop millions of users from passing the message along . Snopes has a detailed overview of these scams and others that have permeated the web over the years , going all the way back to the early days of Hotmail . Facebook 's business model . The recent round of Facebook rumors suggest that the site will start charging for membership as a result of the upcoming new profiles . The new Facebook does indeed feature some dramatic changes , but you can rest assured that one of them is n't that the site will start charging you . Here 's why : For starters , it does n't need the money . Facebook is estimated to be on track to pull in around $ 4 billion in revenue in 2011 , and has raised more than $ 2 billion in venture capital . It 's also on track to go public in 2012 , a move that would bring in significantly more capital for the company and value it at between $ 80 billion and $ 100 billion . More importantly , the company 's business model revolves around having as many users as possible . Remaining free is paramount to doing that . Facebook makes its money on highly targeted advertising that 's based on the plethora of data that its members share on the site . Restricting users ' ability to use the site would actually be detrimental to that model . Facebook did n't even introduce its ad platform until 2007 -- because the company wanted to focus on adding users as quickly as possible . That 's not to say social networking sites have n't found success in charging members for some services . LinkedIn offers premium memberships with features such as enhanced search , direct messaging and seeing who has viewed your profile . Some dating sites , like Match.com and eHarmony charge users to message each other . Still , those services are appealing to a specific audience -- Facebook 's goal is to connect everyone in the world . That ca n't be done if you need a credit card to use the service . Why it will never charge you . Of course , Facebook is in business to make money . Beyond advertising , it has found ways to profit directly from its users through Facebook Credits , a form of currency that can be used on the site in social games like FarmVille and Mafia Wars . In the future , we expect Facebook to find additional ways to monetize . The company could grow its credit system to become a rival to PayPal . We could also see Facebook extending its ad platform beyond the social network itself and onto the wider Web -- in order to compete with Google 's AdSense . There 's also potential in e-commerce . Although Facebook 's Deals product fell flat , an increasing number of merchants are starting to sell their wares directly on the social networking site . Might Facebook one day provide its own tools for powering such activity ? It 's certainly possible . The one thing that all of these models have in common is that they need a critical mass of users to be successful . Facebook has that , and would never risk losing it by charging people for basic access to the tools that make its multi-billion dollar business work . See the original story on Mashable.com . © 2013 MASHABLE.com . All rights reserved .
False rumors of a Facebook pay scheme have gone viral on numerous occasions . Facebook makes its money not from users but from highly targeted advertising . It does n't need the money ; Facebook is estimated to earn some $ 4 billion in 2011 .