Meta has announced plans to bring no ads subscription for Facebook and Instagram users in Europe according to local regulatory demands.
The company announced on 12 November that a number of changes will be coming for European users of these apps, including reducing the price of subscription for no ads by 40%.
Good news for European users
Meta is rolling out subscriptions for European users of Facebook and Instagram with an option to subscribe for no ads at a subsidized rate. Nevertheless, the free use option remains available and users can choose to stick with it and continue to view personalized ads.
Subscribers on all devices and operating systems will enjoy the discounts for no ads subscriptions starting on 13 November. Existing subscribers who already paid the higher fees will have automatic reductions.
Additionally, users who choose to use these platforms for free will also be able to decide if they wish to see fewer personalized ads than they used to before.
The fewer ads will be shown based on a few factors such as what a person sees while on Facebook and Instagram and their age, location, gender, and how they engage with ads.
Meta however warned that less ads can lead to the viewing ads that are less relevant to the user due to less data being used to analyze ads.
User concerns
Bringing no ads subscription to Europe is a commendable development from Meta, but there have been user concerns about how much control they have over their accounts.
The company banned user accounts on its platforms that track billionaires’ private jet flights last months.
This has led to the aggravation of already existing concerns that the social media platforms do not fully give users control over their data and accounts.