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The parent company of Facebook and Instagram, Meta, has announced plans to offer ad-free versions of Facebook and Instagram in the UK soon. The upcoming feature will work in the sense that users will have a choice to continue using the free version with personalized ads, or pay a monthly fee to remove ads and prevent their data from being used for ad targeting.
According to Meta, This move is a response to new “consent or pay” guidance around personalized advertising. The company isn’t doing this because it wants to, but because UK regulators—Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO)—have issued new “consent or pay” guidance.
The guidance says online services that rely on personal data for targeted advertisement must offer people a genuine choice:
- Either consent to data being used for personalized advertising,
- Or pay to avoid being tracked and targeted.
So, the Meta’s new paid subscription plan in the UK is its way of complying with this rule. The rollout is targeted toward users aged 18 and over in the UK. However, for users who do not opt for the paid version, nothing changes: they’ll continue to see personalized ads.
The Meta's Ad-Free Paid Subscription Prices
The Ad-free plan will cost £3 per month on the web and cost £4 per month when using the Facebook or Instagram’s iOS or Android apps. Meta blames the difference in pricing on fees levied by Apple and Google in their respective app stores because the subscription will be made via in-app payment.
The Meta’s ad-free subscription covers all accounts linked through its Accounts Center, the tool that lets people connect their Facebook and Instagram logins. If someone has multiple accounts connected, each extra account will cost an additional £2 a month on the web or £3 a month on iOS or Android.
If you stay on the free version, you’ll continue seeing ads. Those ads can still be tailored to you (based on the data you allow Meta to use), and you can adjust some of what you see through Ad Preferences, but you won’t be able to turn ads off completely unless you subscribe. So, the equation is simple: pay = no ads. Free = ads remain (personalized to some extent).
It's worth noting that digital advertising accounted for around 97 percent of Meta’s revenue in 2024, according to a report by Bloomberg. So, Meta must comply with regulatory requirements while also finding ways to protect its main source of income, making the introduction of paid subscriptions both a legal necessity and a potential new revenue stream.
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Similar Model in the EU
This move mirrors what Meta has already done in the European Union (EU) last year in response to stricter data and privacy regulations. The social media and AI company first offered an ad-free subscription option for €10 per month.
However, the regulators said it didn’t fully comply with the Digital Markets Act (DMA), which imposes even stricter rules on big tech companies considered “gatekeepers.” The regulators blamed Meta for issues like user choice, transparency, fair pricing, and consumer protection, and as a result, Meta was fined €200 million by the EU.
Meta then offered a cheaper, revised ad-free plan, which regulators were still reviewing earlier this year. In the UK, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has expressed support for giving people a “real choice” about whether their data is used for ad targeting.
The change is partly driven by legal and regulatory pressure. For instance, earlier this year, a British human rights campaigner won a case against Meta demanding they stop using her personal data for targeted ads.
Meta commended the ICO for taking what it described as a balanced stance on personalized advertising, arguing that such ads deliver the most value to users and businesses alike. At the same time, the company took aim at EU authorities, accusing them of pushing privacy rules too far.
