Love it or hate it, Facebook started our online addiction as one of the first big social media sites, and one thing that helped it take over the world is the fact it is free. But under new plans from the online giant, you might soon have to pay to use Facebook.

You might have trained yourself to not look at them, but showing you loads of ads means the Facebook app can be free – it’s the same with Instagram, TikTok, and any other free social media app you use.

But in a shock move, Facebook is hoping to charge Europeans €10 – that’s about £8.60 – per month to use the service with no ads at all, reports the WSJ, which also says Instagram could see similar fees.

It’s because the European Union has recently decided Facebook shouldn’t be allowed to suck up all your personal data to show you targeted ads – but this is what makes Facebook its billions. When you go on Facebook and see that pair of trainers you’ve been thinking of buying, it’s because you’re being tracked around the internet – all your web browsing is linked, which helps apps like Facebook show you ads of things you genuinely might buy.

At the moment, the Facebook website or app doesn’t always have to ask you directly if you mind it tracking you, so it does it by default, but the EU says it should ask. Facebook is worried people will say no, and then miss out on millions in advertising money. Since 2021, iPhones now ask you if you want to block app tracking, which has lost Facebooks tons of money.

Protesters descend on Meta’s offices in London

That’s why Facebook’s owner, Meta, is reportedly suggesting it could charge you about £10 per month to use Facebook with no ads at all – and if you don’t want to pay, it would then show you those very targeted ads. Either way, Facebook wants its money – either directly from you, or from showing you those ads.

The price could be as much as £10 per month (about €13) if you were to pay on your smartphone, as Apple and Google take 30% of any purchases made in their app stores. The shock move will not affect Facebook users across the world, and might not come to the UK if the rules only apply to EU nations. But the plans are said to also apply to Instagram, as the app is also owned by Meta.

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Would you happily pay £10 per month to use Facebook and Instagram with no ads? Or do you not care what ads you see? It’s a future that might not be that far away.

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