Meta’s EU users can choose free Facebook and Instagram access with personalized ads or with less-personalized ads; a paid subscription remains the ad-free option. The less-personalized setting reduces the information Meta says it uses to tailor ads, but it does not turn ads off or stop all data use. The choice follows the European Commission’s 2025 Digital Markets Act (DMA) decision and Meta’s subsequent commitment to offer users another option.
What choices does Meta offer in the European Region?
Meta’s documented ad-experience choices give users three broad paths. The free options both include ads; the paid subscription is the one designed to remove them.
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| Choice | Cost | What to expect |
|---|---|---|
| Personalized ads | Free | Ads are tailored using a broader set of permitted personalization signals. |
| Less-personalized ads | Free | Ads use a reduced set of signals and may be less relevant. Meta says the experience may include ad breaks. |
| Subscription for no ads | Paid | Ads are removed on the covered service; Meta says subscriber information is not processed for advertising. |
Meta’s regional documentation describes the ad-experience choice for the European Region. Coverage and settings can vary by account and platform. See Meta’s explanation of regional ad choices.
Why did the DMA require another option?
Article 5(2) of the DMA limits how gatekeepers combine personal data across services and requires consent for that combination, while providing an equivalent alternative that uses less personal data. The Commission said Meta’s earlier model did not provide that free, lower-data alternative: users had to consent to personalized advertising or pay for an ad-free service. The Commission’s case materials explain its application of Article 5(2) in Meta’s case: DMA case material.
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On April 23, 2025, the Commission found Meta in breach of the DMA and imposed a €200 million fine. In December 2025, it acknowledged Meta’s commitment to offer a choice between fully personalized ads and free access with less-personalized ads, with the Commission saying the options would be presented in January 2026. The Commission described the change as an undertaking, not as the end of its scrutiny; it said it would monitor implementation and gather evidence. Read the Commission’s April 2025 decision announcement and its December 2025 announcement.
Meta said it would appeal the Commission’s decision and argued that the required alternative could undermine its advertising model. That is Meta’s position, not a Commission finding; its statement is at Meta’s explanation of its appeal.
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How to change the ad-experience setting
Meta documents this desktop route through Facebook:
Do these 3 things before closing this tab:
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- Choose Settings & privacy, then Settings.
- Open Accounts Center and select Ad preferences.
- Choose Ad settings, then Ad experience.
- Select Personalized ads or Less-personalized ads, then choose Confirm.
Meta’s documented labels and availability may differ by country, account, app version, or rollout. Its help page lists Facebook and Instagram apps for iOS and Android, as well as Facebook.com, among supported access points. If the control is missing, update the app and check Accounts Center from the web or the other Meta app linked to your account. The Meta help page for ad experience settings gives the documented route.
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What information can less-personalized ads still use?
Less personalized does not mean anonymous or data-free. Meta says it may still use:
- How you engage with ads, such as clicking or liking them;
- Your age and the gender you provided;
- Your location;
- Device or browser information; and
- The content you view while browsing during the current session.
Meta says content viewed in one session is not used to personalize ads in a later session under this option. These are Meta’s descriptions of its ad practices, not an independent audit of every form of data processing for other purposes. Details appear in Meta’s explanation of less-personalized ads.
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What may feel different when browsing?
- Relevance: Ads may be less closely matched to your interests, and Meta says you may see a wider variety of products and brands.
- Interruptions: Meta says the less-personalized experience may include temporary ad breaks that pause browsing.
- Controls: Some ad settings that depend on information no longer used for advertising may not be available.
- Ad volume: The change concerns personalization, not a promise to show fewer ads.
A relevant-looking ad does not by itself show that personalized ads are enabled: current-session content, location, device information, and ad engagement can still inform ads under the less-personalized option.
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Linked Facebook and Instagram accounts
Some ad preferences can apply across Facebook and Instagram accounts linked in the same Accounts Center. Meta’s documentation on Facebook ad-topic preferences and Instagram ad-topic preferences describes cross-account preferences. Check the relevant Accounts Center rather than assuming that every account is linked or synchronized.
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Activity shared by other businesses
The ad-experience setting is separate from controls for information businesses share with Meta. In June 2026, Meta said it was streamlining these controls: the former “Your activity off Meta technologies” setting would be discontinued, and “Activity from other businesses” would cover how information businesses share with Meta is used to personalize ads and other content. See Meta’s June 2026 control update and its Instagram activity-control documentation.
Ad-topic preferences
Topic controls let users ask to see fewer ads about certain categories where available, such as alcohol, parenting, pets, or social issues, elections, and politics. They do not replace the choice between personalized and less-personalized ads, and Meta does not promise that every related ad will disappear. See Meta’s ad-topic controls.
How the policy changed over time
- October 30, 2023: Meta announced a subscription for no ads in Europe. At launch, Meta said it would cost €9.99 monthly on the web or €12.99 through iOS and Android.
- November 2024: Meta announced a free less-personalized ads option and said subscription prices would fall to €5.99 monthly on the web or €7.99 through iOS and Android. These are historical announced prices, not verified current prices. See Meta’s November 2024 announcement.
- April 23, 2025: The Commission found Meta in breach of the DMA and fined it €200 million.
- July 2, 2025: Meta said it would appeal the Commission’s decision.
- December 8, 2025: The Commission acknowledged Meta’s commitment to offer the free less-personalized choice and said users would be presented with the options in January 2026.
- 2026: Meta’s help pages document an ad-experience control for the European Region; the Commission said monitoring and evidence-gathering would continue.
The Commission’s 2026 policy report also discusses Meta’s undertaking and monitoring: 2026 Commission report.
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There is no universally best choice. The trade-off is between the amount of information used for ad targeting, ad relevance, interruptions, and cost.
- Personalized ads: Consider this if more relevant advertising matters more to you than limiting data used for targeting.
- Less-personalized ads: Consider this if you want a free option that reduces the data used to personalize ads and accept less relevant ads or possible breaks.
- No-ads subscription: Consider this if avoiding ads is worth a recurring fee to you. Check Meta’s current price, coverage, and account terms before subscribing; the prices above are historical announcements.
None of these settings is a universal switch for all Meta data use. Users who do not want to use the services can consider deactivating or deleting their accounts; Meta lists those as alternatives to accepting the relevant service terms in its regional ad-choice guidance.
Quick Recap
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