Since September this year, we heard about the subscription for free-ads versions of Facebook and Instagram in response to the regulators’ alleged accusation of behavioural ads. Yesterday, 30 October 2023, Meta published its monthly subscription for no-ads use of Facebook and Instagram for the users based in the EU, EEA and Switzerland.
Image by Artapixel from Pixabay
https://about.fb.com/news/2023/10/facebook-and-instagram-to-offer-subscription-for-no-ads-in-europe/
The price
Subject to the territory, the subscription costs 9.99 euros per month on the web and 12.99 euros per month on iOS and Android. From 1 March 2024, each additional account listed in a user’s Account Centre will add 6 euros per month on the web and 8 euros per month on iOS, Android.
Meta (Facebook) considered this plan in 2018 (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-05-04/facebook-is-said-to-research-ad-free-subscription-based-version?embedded-checkout=true). It was strange at that time but more persuasive at this moment. Nevertheless, the Company has not updated their terms and conditions for this subscription yet (https://www.facebook.com/legal/terms/plain_text_terms). It means that we have to wait for a while to experience the free-ads version.
So, what is the real value of a free-ads subscription from the perspective of the users?
Unlike Netflix or Youtube or television channels, ads on social networks are not very annoying. You may find further analysis in Deloitte’s research in 2021 (https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/insights/industry/technology/ad-experience-advertising-effectiveness.html?id=us:2el:3dp:wsjspon:awa:WSJCMO:2022:WSJFY22). Except for the target, proliferating ones, personally I find that they violate my privacy and sometimes cause subconscious shopping behaviours.
During the economic crisis this year, the ad-support streaming music, video, movie platforms are a reasonable option to save up money (https://www.wsj.com/tech/personal-tech/streaming-prices-save-money-netflix-hulu-345a3eae). This plan is likely unrealistic for the users. It may be a solution against the EU Court of Justice’s decision to emphasise the users’ consent to receive ad-support content on social platforms.
Facebook, Instagram and metal issues
I quitted Facebook and Instagram in 2019 to protect my mental health. Last week, 41 U.S. states and D.C. sued Meta, alleging that the company builds addictive features into these two platforms which harm children’s mental health (https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2023/10/24/meta-lawsuit-facebook-instagram-children-mental-health/). There are many studies showing the harmful impacts of social media, causing mental issues. But, this is the first time there is an official legal action against it. As a part of the problem, free-ads versions seem not a relevant solution. In my opinion, the free-ads-and-harmful-content version would be more valuable than Meta’s current plan.
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