Instagram and Facebook may soon launch in some countries without any ads, as part of the company’s efforts to comply with privacy regulations, according to reports. Parent company Meta has reportedly proposed to regulators the possibility of letting users pay a monthly fee instead of seeing personalized ads based on their own information. Meta currently does not charge users in any region to use the company’s core services, but privacy-related regulations will affect the company’s revenue from showing personalized ads to users.
Meta has proposed charging EU users, according to the Wall Street Journal Up to 13 euros (approx. Rs. 1,130) monthly access to an ad-free version of Facebook or Instagram on a mobile device — priced at €10 (approx. Rs. 870) for users who sign up via a web browser, as the company will not have to pay Apple Or Google Pay commission on in-app purchases. Users need to pay another 6 euros (approximately Rs. 520) for each additional account.
The company reportedly said last month in discussions with privacy regulators in Belgium and Ireland that it would offer an “ad-free subscription” plan (SNA) to European users. However, users in the US and other regions are unlikely to get an ad-free plan in the near future.
Meta’s core services are currently free and open to all users on the platform. The company’s photo and video sharing, chat and social networking services are supported by targeted advertising based on users’ personal information. However, a recently passed EU regulation will require Facebook and Instagram to offer users the ability to opt out of the company’s use of their personal information to target them with ads.
Last month, reports surfaced that Meta was considering launching paid versions of Instagram and Facebook for EU users, while users with unpaid subscriptions would continue to see ads on the service. The social media giant has been fined in some regions, including Norway, for failing to comply with privacy regulations and for using personal information to show targeted ads to users.
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