Meta is launching a subscription service that will remove ads from Facebook and Instagram. The service will be available across the European Union and will be offered for around €9.99 per month on the web and €12.99/month on iOS and Android.
The subscription is intended to address the European Union’s concerns about targeted advertising and collection practices data . Essentially, Meta is giving users the option to pay for the subscription service to remove targeted ads or use the Facebook and Instagram apps for free, while consenting to its data collection practices. By doing so, Meta believes it will meet the privacy requirements set forth by European laws, including the Digital Markets Act and the GDPR.
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“We respect the spirit and intent of these evolving European regulations and are committed to complying with them,” Meta wrote in a blog post announcing the new subscription.
Meta says it will continue to offer free access to its products for people who don't want to pay. The experience for non-paying users will also remain unchanged , and existing ad preference tools will remain available.
The ad-free subscription service will only be available to people aged 18 and over in the EU, EEA and Switzerland. It will initially apply to all connected accounts , but Meta will later charge an additional fee for connected accounts. Starting March 1, 2024, there will be an additional charge of €6 on the web or €8 on iOS and Android per connected account. The company says that as long as someone remains registered, their data will not be used for ad targeting.
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It’s clear that the company is still prioritizing its ad-supported business. The ad-free service will only be available in regions with strict regulations on data consumer , and even there, it won’t be mandatory. The company writes in its post that it “believes in an internet ad-supported” and that the new subscription is solely to comply with European regulations.
On the other hand, it's something that's been requested by many for a long time. Facebook's products track user activity and then target them with ads that match their interests. It remains to be seen how many will choose to pay the subscription to escape tracking and ads.
This new offer enables subscribers to enjoy an uninterrupted browsing experience, free from the presence of intrusive advertisements.
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It's worth noting that this new approach also poses many challenges. For example, it will be interesting to see how collecting subscription revenue will affect Facebook and Instagram's primary sources of income, which depend heavily on advertising business.
Source: www.theverge.com
