According to a report by The New York Times, Meta may be planning to change its core business model and offer paid versions of Facebook and Instagram in the European Union. These versions would not rely on advertising revenue, but on subscriptions from users.
Meta, which is one of the world’s biggest advertisers, has faced several conflicts with data protection authorities in the EU. By launching an ad-free option, Meta could address some of the privacy issues raised by EU regulators.
The report cites three people who are familiar with the plans, but who spoke anonymously. They said that the subscription-based model would not affect the free versions of Facebook and Instagram, which would still be available for most users. Only a small fraction of users may be willing to pay for an ad-free experience, so Meta would need to maintain the regular versions as well.
EU users would have the choice to either use Facebook and Instagram for free, with ads, or to pay for a subscription, without ads. It is unclear how the ad-free versions would handle user tracking; it may be reduced, but not completely eliminated.
The report also does not specify how much the subscription would cost, or how it would be implemented. The ad-free versions would likely resemble other services that offer similar options, such as YouTube Premium, Spotify Premium, or media streaming services without ads.
The success and failure of the paid versions of Facebook and Instagram would depend largely on the subscription price. Meta could also add more features or benefits to the paid plans, similar to what X does for its Premium subscribers.
It remains to be seen if Meta is genuinely interested in promoting an ad-free option for its services in the EU, or if it is just a way to appease regulators.