Meta has unveiled a paid subscription for Facebook and Instagram that will eliminate all ads on their platform. The subscription is meant to address data privacy concerns from European Union regulators. The service is available throughout the European Union and will be offered for around €9.99 per month on the web or €12.99 / month on iOS and Android to account for additional fees issued by the respective platforms.
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It’s no secret that Facebook’s products track you across the internet and then target ads based on your behavior. The European Union has recently, been doubling down on Meta’s ad targeting and data collection practices. In its response, Meta believes that by making users select between paying for the service to remove ad targeting or using the service for free but consenting to its data collection practices, it would have met privacy requirements set by a collection of European data laws. This includes the Digital Markets Act and GDPR.
In a blog post announcing the new subscription, Meta writes that “We respect the spirit and purpose of these evolving European regulations, and are committed to complying with them. We will continue to offer free access to its products for people who do not wish to pay. The experience for nonpaying users will not change, and the existing ad preference tools will remain available.”
There are restrictions to the new ad-free subscription from Meta. It will only be available to people 18 and older in the EU, EEA, and Switzerland. It will initially apply across all linked Facebook and Instagram accounts, but Meta will eventually charge extra for linked accounts. Starting March 1st, 2024, there will be an additional fee of €6 on the web or €8 on iOS and Android per linked account. The company says that as long as someone remains subscribed, their data will not be used for ad targeting.
The service will only be launched in areas with strict protections around consumers’ data, and even then, it will only be an optional purchase.
