Meta will soon give people in the UK the option to pay for ad-free access to Facebook and Instagram, following guidance from the country’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).
So here’s the deal: Meta’s rolling out a new option in the UK where you can actually pay to stop seeing ads on Facebook and Instagram. If you go through the web, it’s £2.99 a month (roughly $5.59 CAD). If you subscribe through iOS or Android, it’s a bit pricier at £3.99 (about $7.46 CAD) because Apple and Google tack on their own fees (insert App Store tax here). If you’ve got more than one account, extra ones cost £2 on the web or £3 on mobile.
People in the UK over 18 will start seeing notifications about this soon. At first, you can just dismiss the pop-up and keep using Facebook and Instagram as usual. If you decide to pay, Meta won’t use your data for targeted ads anymore. If you stick with the free version, you’ll keep seeing ads, but you’ll still be able to tweak your ad settings and check the “Why am I seeing this ad?” option.
This all comes after UK regulators told Meta they had to give people a clearer choice about ads. Meta argues this setup is better than what’s happening in the EU, where the rules are stricter and ads end up being less personalized. Meta also touted that its ad system brought in £65 billion for the UK economy and supported over 357,000 jobs in 2024.
Big picture, Meta’s just joining a wider trend. Lots of apps and services now give you two options: keep it free with ads, or pay a little each month to make them disappear.
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