Meta Introduces $5 Monthly Fee for Ad-Free Facebook and Instagram in UK
Facebook and Instagram users in the U.K. will be able to pay a subscription of up to $5.36 (£3.99) per month to use the platforms without ads.
On Friday, Meta announced that it would introduce ad-free options for U.K. users in the coming weeks. The subscriptions will cost £2.99 per month on the web or £3.99 on iOS and Android for a user’s first Meta account.
If a user’s Facebook and Instagram accounts are linked, only one monthly fee is required. Users who do not subscribe can continue to use the platforms for free, but will continue to see targeted ads.
According to Meta, the new tier is intended to give people more control over how they use its services while allowing the company to maintain its ad-funded free version. Subscribers will not see ads, and their personal data will not be used for advertising purposes.
“This will give people based in the UK the choice between continuing to use Facebook and Instagram for free with personalised ads, or subscribing to stop seeing ads,” Meta says in a blog post.
The company says it will notify all Facebook and Instagram users in the UK over the age of 18 that the subscription option is available. When a user subscribes to the plan, Meta says their personal information will no longer be used for advertising.
The decision to introduce a paid tier follows a privacy case earlier this year in which Meta agreed to stop targeting ads at a U.K. user. Tanya O’Carroll, a human rights campaigner based in London, filed a lawsuit against Meta in 2022, claiming the company violated U.K. data laws by refusing her request to prevent Facebook from collecting and using her data for targeted ads. The Information Commissioner’s Office, the U.K.’s data regulator, supported O’Carroll’s position, saying that individuals have the right to object to their personal information being used for direct marketing.
Meta later settled the case with O’Carroll, who has had a Facebook account for 20 years. The agreement set a precedent for millions of U.K. social media users and prompted Meta to explore offering an ad-free version of its platforms after avoiding a High Court trial in London.
The subscription model in the UK mirrors Meta’s paid subscription in the European Union, where Facebook and Instagram users can pay from $11 (€9.99) per month to remove most ads from the platforms.
Image credits: Header photo licensed via Depositphotos.
