Meta has announced a reduction in the price of the subscription without advertising for your social networks Instagram and Facebook and will show less personalized ads to those users who use the free version, although this option will include advertising breaks that cannot be skipped for a few seconds.
The company led by Mark Zuckerberg launched a plan in November of last year Ad-free subscription on Instagram and Facebook in Europe in order to comply with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR for its acronym in English) and the Digital Markets Law (DMA) and guarantee the protection of users regarding the processing of their personal data and privacy.
Thus, users can opt for a subscription to avoid receiving advertising based on their data, or continue using social networks for free, but with the appearance of ads in the ‘feeds’ in a personalized way.
Now, a year after its implementation, Meta has announced a 40 percent reduction in the price of the monthly subscription to its platforms. Specifically, users must pay 5.99 euros per month in the case of the web versionthat is, 4 euros less than the previous rate (9.99 euros).
For its part, the subscription for devices iOS y Android has decreased by 5 euros and now costs 7.99 euros monthlycompared to the 12.99 euros it previously cost, as detailed in a statement on its website.
It must be taken into account that Meta applies a additional fee of 4 euros per month on the web and 5 euros per month on iOS and Android for each additional account listed in a user’s Account Center. These rates have also been reduced, since until now they cost 6 and 8 euros, respectively.
With all this, Meta has clarified that the price will update automatically for users who were already subscribed to this advertising-free option, and that the new rates are now available for users who decide to subscribe.
LESS PERSONALIZED ADS IN THE EU
Despite this subscription model, the technology company has stressed that it has continued to receive additional demands from European regulators that “go beyond what is written in the law.”
In response, to continue providing its services free of charge to “as many citizens in the EU as possible”, Meta has introduced a less personalized ads option.
With this new option, those users who choose to use Instagram and Facebook for free will be able to choose a less personalized type of advertising, with which the company intends to offer a additional control over the use of your data and your experience with ads.
As Meta explained, the Less personalized ads will use less user data, Therefore, they will be based exclusively on the context (that is, what a person sees in a particular session on Facebook and Instagram), and on “a minimum set of data points”, such as the age, location, gender and the way they interact with ads.
However, the company has specified that, by choosing the less personalized ads option, the platform will be able to begin generating ads that are “less relevant to a person’s interests”. Therefore, users may encounter ads in their feed that are not so interesting to them.
ADS THAT CANNOT BE OMITTED FOR A FEW SECONDS
In addition to all this, Meta has also announced that, with the option of less personalized ads, it will also will introduce advertising breakswhich will allow advertisers to “connect with a broader audience in this low-data environment.”
As the technology company has developed, the advertising break refers to a practice with which some of the ads are “unskippable for a few seconds.” This measure has been introduced to “ensure” that users have a less personalized “free” ad experience.
Within this framework, Meta has detailed that they will inform users residing in the EU about this new option for less personalized ads when they are asked again if they want to subscribe to the ad-free plan. However, it can be managed at any time in the social network’s ad configuration menu.