Since mid-week, in Europe, access to Instagram and Facebook requires making a choice between paying a subscription, or agreeing to receive targeted advertisements, and therefore sharing personal data. In short, it is the end of the apparent free nature of Meta’s social networks which are becoming paid for.
The acceleration towards a paid format had been in the air for a few days, but no one expected it to happen so quickly. I was the first to be surprised, this Wednesday, November 8: when I launched Instagram on my smartphone, I saw this screen appear which, since then, has prevented me from using the social network.
A window that says this: “Make a choice about ads. As laws change in your area, you can now choose to continue using Meta products for free, allowing us to use your information for ads, or subscribe to use them without ads.
Clearly, Instagram and Facebook are becoming paid. Personal data – essential for targeted ads – or bank card: now you have to choose! And the bill is steep: 9.99 euros per month, if you take out the subscription via a computer. 12.99 euros per month, via a mobile (Meta passing on the 30% commission charged by Apple and Google, on their respective mobile application stores). And as long as we don’t go past this screen, Instagram and Facebook remain unusable.
A major step for Meta
By following in the footsteps of Elon Musk, who broke a taboo on the social network active users each month, Mark Zuckerberg’s group is drawing the consequences of three major events – including two specific to Europe – which have profoundly changed its economic model and its revenues: GDPR, DSA and ATT.
Let’s start with the introduction of the GDPR, the general data protection regulation in 2018: not at all sure, moreover, that Meta’s initiative, with this choice between subscription and targeted advertisements, is compliant with these high prices , potentially dissuasive.
Much more recently, the new European regulation on digital services, the famous DSA with its section on the protection of privacy. And then, specific to the iPhone, let’s not forget the transparency of application tracking (ATT for “App Tracking Transparency” in English), this function launched by Apple, two and a half years ago, which has made a lot of harm Meta, by preventing it from continuing to collect personal data, without the user’s consent.
From 119 to 251 euros per year
Today, we must therefore choose between agreeing to be the product – in the marketing sense – by opting for free, or becoming Meta’s customer by paying. And the prices will increase on March 1, if you use both Facebook and Instagram: they will go from 9.99 to 15.99 euros (6 euros more per additional account) on computer, and from 12.99 to 20 .99 euros per month (8 euros more) on smartphone, or up to 251.88 euros per year to pay, to continue using Instagram and Facebook, without advertisements, and a priori, without sharing your data.
In Europe, this data saves Meta, on average, 72 euros per user, per year. Each subscriber will therefore bring in 180 euros more per year (119 euros net more per year, once the commission from Apple and Google is deducted).