Facebook and Instagram Introduce Subscription and Annoying Ad Breaks – Is Free Scrolling Over?
Are you ready to pay nearly 8 euros a month to avoid ads on Facebook and Instagram? Meta, the company behind these popular social networks, is rolling out a new policy that will infuriate many users in Croatia and the region.
The End of Free Enjoyment?
Social networks like Facebook and Instagram have been free to use so far, but users have been paying a “price” in the form of their private data used to show personalized ads. Meta now offers users the option to pay 7.99 euros per month to remove ads. But if you don’t want to pay and don’t like personalized ads, get ready for a real torture.
Annoying Ad Breaks You Can’t Skip
Meta is introducing so-called “ad breaks” that will appear in the Instagram and Facebook feeds. Unlike previous ads that you could quickly scroll past, these ads will literally stop you. You won’t be able to continue scrolling until the ad finishes, and a countdown timer will show how long the ad will last. Yes, you read that right – Meta is forcing you to watch the ad until the end, just like on YouTube before videos, but now on social networks.
What Does This Mean for Users?
If you don’t want to pay the subscription and don’t want personalized ads, you will get ads that are less related to your interests but much more intrusive and longer. This will definitely worsen the user experience on these networks, and many users might switch to other platforms or reduce their time spent on Facebook and Instagram.
Meta Has Been Testing New Ads Since Last Year
These changes are not sudden – Meta started testing this model in some markets last year. Now it is expanding to the region, and Croatia is one of the first countries where users have started receiving notifications about these changes.
Is This the End of the Free Internet as We Know It?
Many will wonder if this is the beginning of the end of the free internet. More and more companies are introducing subscription models to avoid dependence on ad revenue. But is 7.99 euros a month too much to remove ads on social networks? And what will happen to users’ privacy if they continue to use the free version with personalized ads?
Conclusion
Meta has decided to put users to a choice: either pay to enjoy clean and uninterrupted content or accept intrusive, unskippable ads and tracking of your data. This decision will surely spark a storm of comments and possibly a mass exodus of users from these networks.
What about you? Would you pay nearly 8 euros a month to avoid ads, or will you suffer through ad breaks? Or maybe you’re already planning to switch to another network? Drop a comment and let’s see who’s brave and who will complain about this new “freedom” of the internet!
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