Meta launches ad-free paid subscription for Facebook, Instagram

Meta is now offering a paid subscription for Facebook and Instagram getting rid of the ads on both platforms.

In an effort to satisfy privacy requirements outlined by European data laws such as the Digital Markets Act and GDPR, Meta introduced this approach.

Users now have the option to either pay for the service and have ad targeting removed or continue using the service for free while consenting to the data collection practices.

As part of this change, Meta will no longer use data from paying users for any ad tracking.

Facebook, Instagram ad-free paid subscription prices

It is currently available in Europe 36, priced at EUR 9.99 per month on a browser. While it goes up to EUR 12.99 monthly on iOS and Android to account for additional fees on said platforms.

However, it remains uncertain whether ads will still appear on mobile platforms if a user only paid for a web subscription, or vice-versa.

Even with the new paid subscription, the experience on the free versions of Facebook and Instagram remains unchanged. Users won’t have to worry about any additional ads. And they can still make use of the existing ad preference tools to tailor their ad experience to their liking.

Meta’s new ad-free subscription is exclusively available to users aged 18 and above in the EU, EEA, and Switzerland. Initially, this subscription covers all linked Facebook and Instagram accounts. But Meta plans to introduce additional charges for linked accounts in the future.

Furthermore, from March 1st of next year, there will be an extra cost of EUR 6 on the web or EUR 8 on iOS and Android per linked account.

Meta has yet to confirm whether the new paid tier will come to other countries in the future.

Elon Musk’s X recently unveiled new Premium tiers that not only eliminates ads but also offers additional features.

Although some may be inclined to draw parallels between this move and Meta’s introduction of its own subscription plans, the connection between the two seemed rather insignificant.