Facebook and Instagram have been an integral part of people’s lives for a long time. With Facebook, people became accustomed to sharing their lives with the public. Rather than charging users, the platforms rely on personalized ads. What if we could remove these advertisements on Instagram and Facebook for a fee? According to reports, Meta is exploring that idea.
Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, is thinking about offering subscriptions to these apps without any ads. Users in Europe could pay around $10-13 per month to use one account on their computer without personalized ads. It would cost a little more, around $6 extra per month, to connect additional accounts.
On phones, the fees would be higher because app stores like Apple and Google take a cut of any payments made through apps. Meta shared these proposed subscription plans, called SNA (Subscription No Ads), with privacy regulators in Europe. They want feedback on how to build the options while still protecting people’s information.
Right now, Facebook and Instagram are free but track what people do to show them relevant ads. With a subscription, users could avoid having their data collected this way. But many may not want to pay when the apps are currently free.
Regulators in Europe are pushing apps and websites to get explicit permission before tracking people across the internet. Meta hopes subscriptions provide an ad-free choice while respecting these new rules. It’s unclear if subscribers would still have to agree to some data collection. But this could be Meta’s answer for complying with regulations in Europe and respecting users’ privacy.
Only time will tell if people opt to subscribe or continue using the ad-based versions of Facebook and Instagram as always. But it shows Meta exploring new business models beyond just targeted advertisements.
