Meta’s Ad-Free Subscription Package Restricts Capability To Run Ads in Its Apps

Here’s just a little detail that E.U. users can have missed when signing up for Meta’s latest ad-free subscription option.

As per Meta’s documentation, not only will you now not see ads in your individual feed consequently of paying €9.99 per thirty days, but you furthermore may won’t find a way to run ads, or boost posts for yourself, or your enterprise, depending in your subscription.

Which is causing some headaches for those with linked Pages within the app.

As highlighted by Meta ads expert Jon Loomer, this is definitely spelled out within the official terms.

As per Meta:

“For those who subscribe, the next aren’t any longer available to you because it will require using your information for ads:

• Running ads and boosting posts for an Instagram account
• Running ads and boosting posts in your Facebook profile (for instance, boosting your individual Marketplace listings)
• Running ads for a Facebook Page, if the Page is linked to an Instagram account that has a subscription to make use of Meta Products without ads
• Participating in partnership ads on Instagram or Facebook
• Monetizing with Ads on Reels and In-stream ads”

To be clear, you’ll still find a way to run ads for a linked Facebook Page that you just manage, as long as you don’t even have an Instagram account that’s signed up for the ad-free option connected to each.

So it’s not entire blackout, but in case you’re signed up, there can be restrictions.

As Meta notes, these ad options also require a level of private data usage, and thus, they aren’t available to you in case you decide to opt out of knowledge sharing. So you possibly can avoid personalized ads entirely, and pay in your Facebook and IG experience. But in case you also need to run ads, you’ll probably must cancel your subscription.

Which might be how Meta wants it, as it might likely make more cash over time by showing people ads, versus what it’ll rake in from subscription payments.  

Really, the entire ad-free offering is a way to side-step the newest E.U. rules related to data permissions and usage, with Meta essentially trying to keep its existing business model in-tact, and in operation, by enabling users to opt out of personalized ads, in the event that they select. They only need to pay a price to achieve this.

Meta’s fully aware that the overwhelming majority of individuals won’t pay, which is positive, because it’ll then find a way to simply keep running ads, prefer it at all times has, while also facilitating a more useful opt-out, according to these latest laws.

Which is probably going why it’s also okay with these ad restrictions being one other a part of the method, because that’ll work to push more people away from signing up for its ad-free package.

Meta does note that individuals who’ve signed as much as this system can still run some ad types:

“For those who subscribe, you possibly can still boost posts or run ads for a Page, if that Facebook Page isn’t linked to an Instagram account that has a subscription to make use of Meta Products without ads”

So there are still some options available, possibly unlinking the offending IG page in case you really need to run ads.

But it surely’s going to be an annoyance for some, which could well be by design.

Either way, it’s one other reminder that while Meta is offering an ad-free option, it doesn’t really need people to take it up.

It’d prefer to simply keep showing you ads, but in case you really need it…