Advertisements on Instagram and Facebook can be the bane of one’s existence and, if you use the services a lot, you’d probably give part of your earthly soul to be rid of them.
Well, pretty soon you may not have to sell your undying soul to use the apps without products you don’t need being shoved in your face every third post.
The New York Times reports, Meta is considering a paid subscription to Facebook and Instagram that’d rid timelines of commercial interruption.
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This is far from the first time this idea has been floated, but this time it pertains to the European Commission’s ongoing concerns about the social media company’s handling of consumer data and users’ exposure to ad trackers.
While Meta already gives users the option to opt out of the targeted advertisers in the European Union, the launch of a tier to opt out of advertisements altogether might go someway to satisfying EU regulators.
However, it would represent a huge shift in Meta’s business model with the company operating entirely on an ad-funded model since Facebook first launched.
As the NYT points out: “For nearly 20 years, Meta’s core business has centred on offering free social networking services to users and selling advertising to companies that want to reach that audience. Providing a paid tier would be one of the most tangible examples to date of how companies are having to redesign products to comply with data privacy rules and other government policies, particularly in Europe.”
If Meta was to enact that policy in the EU, there’s a decent chance it would be available in the UK too.
In all honestly, even paying to get rid of ads might be a good way to save money. If you happen to click on a Facebook or Instagram ad a single time, you’re destined to see it every day for the rest of time – across both apps – until you finally cave and buy the thing anyway.
