Social media users face £3.99 monthly charge to remove ads

Amelia Jones

Social media users in the UK are being notified of a new subscription option that allows them to use the platforms without personalised advertising for a monthly fee.

Meta, the company that owns Facebook and Instagram, is offering users the choice of paying £3.99 a month to remove personalised adverts, or continuing to use the services free with ads.

The subscription was announced in September and is now being rolled out to UK users. Notifications appear when users log into their accounts or open the apps and can initially dismissed.

Users will later be required to select an option before continuing to use the platforms.

The cost of the subscription varies depending on how the platforms are accessed. Users subscribing through the Facebook or Instagram apps will pay £3.99 a month, while those using the web versions will pay £2.99.

Meta said the higher price on apps reflects fees charged by Apple and Google under their app store purchasing policies.

The charge applies per account. Additional linked accounts cost £2 a month on the web and £3 a month on the app.

Users who choose not to subscribe will continue to see personalised advertising. They will still be able to manage their advertising preferences through their account settings, including influencing the types of ads shown and the data used to select them.

Meta has said it does not sell users’ personal data to advertisers.

The change follows guidance published last year by the Information Commissioner’s Office on ad-free subscription models.

Meta said the move is intended to give users a “clear choice” over whether their data is used for personalised advertising, while preserving free access to ad-supported platforms.

The move places Meta among a growing number of digital platforms adopting “consent or pay” models following increased scrutiny of online advertising practices.