Meta launches £2.99 subscription for ad-free Facebook and Instagram in UK

Meta will introduce a subscription option for Facebook and Instagram users in the UK during the coming weeks, allowing them to access the platforms without personalised advertising for £2.99 per month on web browsers or £3.99 monthly on iOS and Android devices. The announcement, made on September 26, 2025, responds to regulatory guidance from the Information Commissioner's Office published on January 23, 2025.

The subscription model applies to users over 18 years old. Those who choose to pay will avoid having their personal information used for personalised advertising purposes. Users declining the subscription will continue using the services at no cost while receiving personalised advertisements, maintaining access to existing ad preference controls and privacy settings. A third option allows users to leave the platforms entirely.

Web purchases cost less than mobile subscriptions because Apple and Google charge fees through their respective app store purchasing policies. Regardless of purchase location, the subscription applies to all Facebook and Instagram accounts linked within Meta's Accounts Center. Additional accounts listed in the Accounts Center incur reduced fees of £2 monthly on web or £3 monthly on mobile platforms.

The ICO's guidance establishes a framework examining four critical factors for consent or pay models: power imbalance between organisations and users, appropriate fee levels, service equivalence across paid and free options, and privacy by design principles. Organisations must document assessments through data protection impact assessments under Article 35 of the UK GDPR. The guidance updated on January 23 confirmed publishers can implement consent or pay approaches provided they offer genuine choice and meet strict data protection requirements.

The ICO framework differs substantially from positions taken by European Union regulators. The European Data Protection Board adopted Opinion 08/2024 on April 17, 2024, determining that most consent or pay models failed to meet GDPR standards for valid consent. Meta challenged that opinion through General Court litigation filed on June 27, 2024, presenting seven pleas alleging violations of fundamental rights and improper interpretation of GDPR provisions.

Meta's subscription pricing in the UK represents a fraction of rates charged in other European markets. The company launched similar subscription services across the European Union, European Economic Area, and Switzerland in October 2023 at €9.99 monthly for web access and €12.99 for mobile applications. Those prices significantly exceeded the UK rates announced in September 2025.

Research examining consent or pay implementations across Europe revealed substantial disparities between advertising revenue and subscription charges. A comprehensive report released in July 2025 documented that publishers earn approximately €0.24 per user monthly from tracking-based advertising, while pay options generate €3.24 per user monthly. The analysis found digital advertising accounts for roughly 10 percent of European press revenue, with programmatic advertising requiring personal data representing only 5 percent of total newspaper and magazine income.

The UK's Information Commissioner's Office emphasized that fees must be "appropriate" and not "unreasonably high" to avoid effectively coercing users into consenting to data collection. The guidance recommends separating core service access fees from data protection opt-out charges. Where power imbalances exist between organisations and users, regulators expect companies to provide alternative options such as contextual advertising that does not require consent or payment.

Service equivalence represents another pillar of the ICO framework. Publishers must ensure comparable core functionality regardless of whether users choose to consent or pay. While premium features may differ across options, the fundamental service should remain consistent to preserve genuine choice. Organisations must also comply with privacy by design obligations under Article 25(1) of the UK GDPR, ensuring data protection is integrated when designing services.

Meta's announcement highlighted differences between UK and EU regulatory environments. The company stated that EU regulators continue requiring less personalised advertising experiences beyond legal requirements, creating worse outcomes for users and businesses. The UK approach allows clearer user choice while enabling personalised advertising tools to function as engines of growth and productivity. According to Meta, its advertising technologies connected to £65 billion in economic activity and over 357,000 jobs across the UK during 2024.

The contrast between regulatory approaches extends to enforcement patterns. Privacy advocacy group noyb filed lawsuitsagainst German data protection authorities on June 17, 2025, over nearly four years of inaction on complaints about consent or pay systems implemented by news websites. The cases revealed significant administrative dysfunction and reluctance to take decisive action against established media companies using questionable consent mechanisms.

UK news publishers began implementing consent or pay models following the ICO guidance. The Daily Mirror established pricing at £1.99 monthly for ad-free access with clear data collection options and partner information. The Times, The Sun, Daily Mail, Express, and Independent adopted similar approaches during late 2024 and early 2025. The ICO announced plans to expand cookie tracking scrutiny to the 1,000 most-visited UK websites following successful compliance improvements among initial review sites.

Personalised advertising builds profiles based on three data categories: provided information intentionally shared when signing up for services, observed data gathered through tracking activity across products and devices, and inferred data about interests or behaviour. The Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations require organisations to obtain consent before using storage and access technologies such as cookies on user devices. Combined with UK GDPR requirements, organisations must secure valid consent to deliver personalised advertising relying on these technologies.

Meta maintains that personalised advertisements help users discover relevant products and services while allowing businesses to reach interested customers. Studies indicate personalised ads boost revenue for companies displaying advertisements on Meta platforms, with every pound spent on ads driving an average £3.82 in revenues for UK businesses choosing to advertise. UK advertisers will continue running personalised advertising campaigns reaching users who select free, ad-supported access.

Children require special consideration under consent or pay models. The ICO guidance notes that children merit special protection regarding personal information due to potential lack of financial independence and limited understanding of processing activities. Services offered to children under 13 years old must comply with Article 8 UK GDPR. Organisations seeking consent from users under 13 must obtain parental consent and implement effective age assurance measures.

Standard 12 of the Children's Code requires switching profiling for children off by default, including for personalised advertising purposes. Services should always provide privacy settings for personalised advertising used to fund services but separate from core functionality children wish to access. In most cases, funding models remain distinct from core services and should be subject to privacy settings disabled by default.

The consent or pay model differs from "take it or leave it" approaches that condition service access solely on accepting data processing for personalised advertising. The ICO determined most take it or leave it approaches fail to comply with requirements for freely given consent because they provide no genuine choice. Consent or pay models differ by offering payment as an alternative to consent, though this raises separate issues when fees combine access to core services with charges for avoiding data sharing.

Organisations can offer additional options alongside consent or pay choices. These include access with contextual advertising targeted based on page content rather than user profiles, or menu options with different premium subscription tiers featuring additional functionality. Such approaches may address power imbalance concerns by ensuring users have meaningful choices beyond binary consent or payment decisions.

The ICO stated that when organisations identify clear power imbalances with users, they should take additional steps demonstrating consent or pay models comply with data protection law. Power imbalances may exist where users have no realistic choice about whether to use services, particularly affecting existing users who may face significant barriers to switching providers. Factors indicating power imbalances include market position, network effects, switching costs, and data portability limitations.

Recital 43 of the UK GDPR explains that consent should not be regarded as freely given if individuals have no genuine free choice or cannot refuse or withdraw consent without detriment. The phrase "without detriment" means individuals should not face unfair penalties for refusing or withdrawing consent. However, it does not mean consent becomes invalid due to any level of negative consequence. The ICO uses the term "unfair penalty" throughout its guidance.

Articles 12 and 21 of the UK GDPR require organisations processing personal data for direct marketing purposes to demonstrate that individuals can exercise their right to object free of charge. The ICO guidance explains that direct marketing definitions include processing for personalised advertising purposes. In consent or pay contexts, the right to object to direct marketing can operate similarly to withdrawing consent to personalised advertising.

Meta's implementation will notify UK users over 18 about their choice to subscribe for fee-based access without advertisements. The notification will be dismissible initially, allowing existing users time to consider options before decisions are required. Social media services remain personalised for subscribers, but their personal data will not be used to display advertisements.

The announcement contrasts with Meta's ongoing disputes with European regulators over data processing practices. The Court of Justice of the European Union previously limited Meta's data use for advertising, requiring data minimisation principles even when users consent to personalised advertising. A Leipzig District Court awarded a Facebook user €5,000 compensation on July 4, 2025, for data protection violations involving Meta's Business Tools that track users across third-party websites.

The UK regulatory environment appears increasingly divergent from European Union approaches. While digital advertising trade associations defend consent or pay models in EU consultations, arguing they provide genuine user autonomy, privacy advocates continue documenting concerns about coercive design and excessive pricing. The tension between commercial viability and privacy protection remains central to ongoing regulatory debates.

This matters for the marketing community because it establishes a precedent for how major platforms can balance personalised advertising capabilities with privacy requirements. The relatively low subscription pricing compared to European rates may influence user decisions and affect targeting reach for advertisers. The ICO's framework provides clearer parameters for implementing similar models while maintaining compliance with UK data protection law.

The approach also affects measurement of advertising effectiveness. Users selecting subscription options will not contribute to personalised advertising metrics, potentially impacting campaign optimisation and audience insights. Advertisers must adapt strategies to account for reduced data availability while maintaining campaign performance for users choosing ad-supported access.

Timeline

• October 30, 2023: Meta announces subscription model for ad-free Facebook and Instagram access in EU at €9.99-€12.99 monthly
• March 2024: ICO publishes call for views on consent or pay models
• April 17, 2024: European Data Protection Board adopts Opinion 08/2024 finding most consent or pay models violate GDPR
• June 27, 2024: Meta challenges EDPB opinion through General Court litigation
• January 23, 2025: UK ICO publishes guidance allowing consent or pay models with strict compliance requirements
• June 17, 2025: Privacy group noyb sues German authorities over four-year enforcement delays
• July 4, 2025: German court awards Facebook user €5,000 for data protection violations
• September 26, 2025: Meta announces £2.99 subscription option for UK users

Summary

Who: Meta Platforms will offer the subscription option to Facebook and Instagram users over 18 years old in the United Kingdom, following guidance from the Information Commissioner's Office.

What: A subscription model priced at £2.99 monthly on web or £3.99 on mobile platforms allows users to access Facebook and Instagram without personalised advertising, while those declining subscriptions continue using services at no cost with advertisements.

When: Meta announced the offering on September 26, 2025, with implementation planned over the coming weeks, responding to ICO guidance published on January 23, 2025.

Where: The subscription option applies to users based in the United Kingdom, representing a departure from Meta's approach in European Union markets where pricing remains significantly higher.

Why: The implementation follows ICO guidance establishing frameworks for consent or pay models, requiring organisations to demonstrate users can freely give consent while balancing commercial viability with privacy protection through appropriate fees, service equivalence, and privacy by design principles.