On October 30, 2023, Meta announced a new subscription model for Facebook and Instagram. Users in the EU, European Economic Area and Switzerland can now choose whether to continue to use Meta platforms for free, with personalized ads, or pay a fee to stop seeing ads.
The price of the Meta subscription varies depending on the device used:
€9.99/month on the web;
€12.99/month on iOS and Android.
Meta’s decision is a way of responding to complaints regarding its data processing activities and complying with European regulations. Earlier this year, the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) had declared that Meta’s method of bypassing user consent was unlawful. The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) also backed this view, confirming that Meta’s data usage practices were illegal in the EU from 2018 to 2023.