Any online service without advertising is a luxury people are willing to pay for, and Meta appears to have taken note. The parent company of Facebook and Instagram is reportedly considering ad-free subscription services for both platforms in Europe. It is still unclear how much the subscription service would cost or when it would be launched. Meta would also continue to offer free versions of Facebook and Instagram with ads.

The move would be an answer to European Union (EU) regulations over the company’s data-collection practices by giving users an alternative to ad-based services, which rely on analyzing people’s data. Earlier this year, Meta was hit with record fines from the European Union and Irish regulators for the handling of user information and forcing users to accept personalized ads as a condition of using Facebook. The rulings stemmed from the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which gives users more control over their personal data and prohibits companies from transferring data about EU residents to countries without strong privacy protections.

Only time can tell what the future of ad-based services looks like for Meta, but it’s looking like changes will be made. Whether that means pulling services from Europe, as Meta hinted at last year, or introducing an ad-free subscription service for the platforms.

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