Meta: no, Facebook and Instagram are not becoming paywalled

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Over the past few days, teaser headlines and putaclics have been cropping up all over the Internet. It's all about Meta becoming a paying service. To be perfectly honest, when I read this news, I raised my eyebrows and let out an exhausted sigh. Meta's social networks, namely Instagram, Facebook and Whats'App, are said to be in the process of becoming pay-per-use. What annoys me is not so much the possibility of them becoming so, but the stupidity of journalists who simply spread articles suggesting that, yes, everyone will pay for their time spent on social networks. In this article, I'll explain why you can continue to use your favorite social media free of charge .

Are Instagram and Facebook becoming paywalled?

No. Instagram and Facebook aren't going pay. However, Meta is now offering a kind of "premium" package that you can subscribe to in order to be ad-free on the platform. In other words, it's nothing more than what YouTube already does on its network.

A return to RGPD compliance:

In 2019, Mark Zuckerberg proclaimed loud and clear: "Facebook is free, and it always will be". But you know what they say? When it's free, you're the product. By registering on social media platforms, you offer Meta an open door to a wealth of information, enabling the American giant to create powerful targeting tools for the advertisers present on the platform, with the aim of offering you "relevant" advertising.

If, until now, Meta managed to slip through the RGPD, this summer Meta was formally banned by a European regulator from using personal data for ad targeting purposes on its Facebook and Instagram platforms, within the European Union.

Meta: towards a paid subscription

As a result of this ban, Meta has had to find a way of continuing to exploit its users' personal data. That's where the paid subscription comes in . For the moment, two offers have been announced, the first at €9.99 and the second at €12.99.

Is paid subscription a bad idea?

At Afffect, we find it hard to believe in this model, especially in view of the disastrous communication Meta has used to promote the offer. In a message broadcast on all the group's apps, Meta explains in broad strokes that, because it has to comply, it's charging us. The approach isn't very clever, and the offer isn't exactly appealing.

In fact, Facebook, Instagram and Whats'App are not on the way to becoming paywalled, so you can continue to use the group's networks exactly as before.