A paid subscription without ads for Facebook and Instagram: Here’s everything you need to know.
The rollout of the paid subscription allowing users to use Facebook or Instagram without ads is underway in Europe. But is it mandatory to subscribe to this plan? And what happens if you choose not to pay? We explain everything to you.
Recently, while browsing Facebook or Instagram, you may have noticed a new prompt informing you that to continue using these social networks for free, you must agree to allow Meta, their parent company, to collect and use certain information about you to display targeted ads. If you choose not to, you will need to subscribe to a monthly fee of €13 on mobile or €10 on a computer (€12.99 and €9.99, to be precise). If you opt for the paid subscription, your data will not be collected, and most importantly, you will not be exposed to ads on Facebook or Instagram. For Meta, this move is aimed at complying with the European Union's Digital Services Act (DSA), while also creating a potential new revenue stream. But in practical terms, is it worth subscribing to this service? And what happens if you decide not to?
Meta is launching paid subscriptions for Facebook and Instagram in Europe.
In all transparency, if you are already a user of Facebook or Instagram and choose to continue using them for free, nothing will change for you. It’s important to remember that Facebook and Instagram have been collecting our data for many years. The only "newness" is that Meta is now explicitly asking us to accept this knowingly. In practice, as shown in the screenshot below, your experience will remain unchanged.
The paid subscription guarantees an ad-free browsing experience on the company's social media platforms. It’s worth noting that accounts of minors are now exempt from ads, and this is free of charge. Meta cannot require payment for their removal. However, the Court of Justice of the European Union, in its ruling on July 4, 2023, stated that the fee requested must not be prohibitive in order to avoid pressuring users into accepting data collection. This data collection generates around €6 per person for Mark Zuckerberg's company. We are awaiting the opinion of the Irish Data Protection Commission, where Meta’s European headquarters is located, regarding the pricing.
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