Meta Lets UK Users Ditch Ads on Facebook, Instagram - But It Comes With a Price Tag

Meta will roll out a subscription-based model on Facebook and Instagram, which will allow users to decide if they want to pay for an ad-free experience or continue using the social media platform with advertisements. The move came as a part of the tech giant’s efforts to give people more control over how their data is used.

It revealed that users in the United Kingdom will soon be able to opt out of ads on both platforms. The subscription begins at £2.99 (around ₹354) per month on the web and £3.99 on iOS and Android apps. Users will receive notifications in the coming weeks about their options.

This model was previously launched in the European Union, where users even have a choice to go with the “less personalised ads” option if they do not subscribe.The initial subscription cost is €9.99 per month. However, the price was later reduced to €5.99 due to regulatory pressure.

It is pertinent to note that Meta will not introduce the “less personalised ads” option for UK users. Following the announcement, the UK’s data watchdog – Information Commissioner’s Office – welcomed the decision.

The regulator stated that it represented a shift from the company’s previous stance of making personalised ads a default for users. The ICO also confirmed that Meta reduced its UK subscription price after discussions.

Meta also describes its pay-or-ads system as a way to balance user choice as it will let those who want an ad-free experience pay a subscription, while keeping the platforms free for everyone else. Currently, the option is limited to the UK and EU, but the model could influence how ad-supported services are offered in other markets.

This update comes amid heightened scrutiny of Meta’s advertising practices, including a legal challenge from British campaigner Tanya O’Carroll, who contended that Facebook’s targeted ads qualify as direct marketing under UK law.

A former senior security executive at WhatsApp has recently filed a federal lawsuit, accusing Meta Platforms Inc. of ignoring repeated warnings about “systemic cybersecurity failures” that put user data at risk, and of retaliating against him after he raised the alarm.

The suit, brought by Attaullah Baig (who says he was WhatsApp’s head of security from 2021 to 2025), alleged that roughly 1,500 WhatsApp engineers had unrestricted access to sensitive user data and could copy, move or steal information “without detection or an audit trail".

Baig also claims the app lacked a full-time security operations centre and that WhatsApp suffered large numbers of account takeovers each day, problems he says may have breached Meta’s obligations under a 2020 Federal Trade Commission privacy order.