Meta Reduced The Cost Of Its Ad-free Facebook And Instagram Subscription Versions By 40%

In order to meet regional regulatory requirements, Meta reduced the cost of its ad-free subscription versions of Facebook and Instagram by 40% for users in the European Union.

On Tuesday, November 12, the social media company announced that it would also provide free access to Facebook and Instagram for EU users who consent to being shown advertisements based on a restricted set of user data.

Nick Clegg, the president of Meta, stated on Threads that the changes they are announcing go above and beyond what is mandated by EU law and satisfy the demands of EU regulators.

Due to an EU law designed to crack down on tech companies’ anti-competitive behavior, Meta first launched an ad-free subscription service for the EU in October 2023.

Additionally, the subscription service went live after the company was fined more than $400 million by regional regulators for breaking EU data privacy laws.

According to the company, its monthly subscription service for desktop users in the EU will now cost 5.99 euros instead of 9.99, and for iOS and Android users, it will now cost 7.99 euros instead of 12.99.

If EU users choose the “less personalized option” to access Facebook and Instagram for free, they will see ads that “may be less relevant to a person’s interests,” the company said.

WhatsApp Is Extending Functionality To Instagram. Now, You Can Share Updates

According to Meta, this version will display advertisements based on “a minimal set of data points,” such as the location, age, gender, and ad engagement behavior of users.

The unskippable advertisements that EU users who select the free option will also see are meant to “provide value to advertisers,” according to Meta.

Compared to less regulated regions like the U.S., Meta’s capacity to swiftly launch new services in the EU has been hampered by the strict regulations.

For example, in 2023, Meta launched its Twitter-like Threads service in the U.S. that summer, but it took almost six months before it could make the service available to users in Europe.

While EU regulators make it difficult for companies that rely on online advertising to operate in the region, Pedro Pavón, a global policy director at Meta, said that the practice of providing personalized advertisements is “the foundation of a modern, free internet” and allows people to “connect with the brands and products most relevant to them in seamless and non-disruptive ways.”

“This is why I expect that even when presented with several equal choices, most people will still choose our personalized ads service,” Pavón said in a LinkedIn post said.