In a blog post published this Tuesday, November 12, 2024, Meta announced changes for its European Facebook and Instagram users, including a price reduction for its ad-free subscription and a less personalized advertising option. These changes aim to meet the requirements of European regulators, who want to offer users more control over their personal data.
Ad-free subscription to Facebook and Instagram sees its price reduced
As of this Tuesday, November 12, 2024, Meta will reduce, with a gradual deployment, the price of the subscription without advertising, which goes from €9.99 to €5.99/month on the web, and from 12.99 € to €7.99/month on iOS and Android, as suggested from March 2024. The cost for additional accounts is also reduced, with respective prices of €4 and €5 depending on the platform .
This 40% discount aims to make the ad-free option more accessible and competitive, allowing Facebook and Instagram users in Europe to enjoy an ad-free experience for a lower cost.
While our previous pricing was firmly aligned with our competitors, this price drop means our subscription service will be one of the cheapest among our competitors, Meta boasts.
Meta specifies that current subscribers will automatically benefit from this reduction, without action on their part. All EU users will have the choice between this subscription and free use with advertisements.
Meta also launches an option with less ad personalization
For those, probably many, who prefer to continue with the free option, Meta introduces a new possibility: viewing less personalized advertisements. Unlike typical targeted ads, these ads only rely on a limited set of data (age, gender, location, and in-session engagement), which reduces the accuracy of the ads served. Meta points out that this option, while meeting regulators' requirements, could mean ads for users that are less relevant to their interests.
This approach aims to respect the expectations of European regulators in terms of data protection, while maintaining a financing model whose justification is to guarantee free access to services. Meta says European users will soon receive a notification to adjust their ad preferences. The firm also reaffirms in its communication that personalized advertisements remain a key model to support small businesses and keep its services free for hundreds of millions of users…
Between Meta and the associations, the battle is not over
This decision will probably not bring satisfaction to associations for the defense of Internet users and the protection of online data. Indeed, the NOYB (None of your business) association reported at the beginning of 2024 that the problem was not the amount of money at stake, “but the 'Pay or okay' approach as a whole”. For its leader, activist Max Schrems, “Meta's goal is to encourage users to click 'OK', even if it is not their free and sincere choice”.
In July 2024, the European Commission, after examination, judged that Meta's offer, which offers nothing other than “pay or consent”, did not allow the Menlo Park firm to enter the competition. of the DMA (Digital Markets Act). The option of less personalized advertisements must serve, according to the owner of Instagram and Facebook, to comply once and for all with the directives of the European Union.
