Meta announced some Important changes for EU usersunder continued pressure from regulators. Changes include lowering the cost of ad-free subscriptions and introducing “less personalized ads.”
Let’s discuss it…
Yuan’s announcement
Here’s what Meta has to say about “less personalized ads”:
In the coming weeks, EU users of Facebook and Instagram who choose to use ads for free will be able to choose to see “less personalized ads.” This less personalized advertising option relies on less data…
Meta said the ads will be based on “a minimal set of data points, including a person’s age, location, gender and how a person interacts with the ad.”
Meta said that if users choose to see less personalized ads, it “could result in ads that are less relevant to the user’s interests. This means people will see ads that they are not interested in.”
Meta’s Bad Bet
Meta was originally created Ad-free subscription model Targeting EU users as the company believes this will satisfy regulators. Meta believes this will provide users with two options:
1. Use Facebook and Instagram to run ads powered by their data
2. Pay to remove ads, and your data will not be used for advertising.
But regulators aren’t buying the bill. Now Meta is forced to slash subscription prices (twice), and now offers a “less personalized ad” option. It seems Meta made the decision to subscribe too early and now they are paying for it.
Impact on advertisers
Understanding the impact on advertisers is not about removing targeting inputs. I’ve seen some reactions that it’s not a big deal because advertisers have successfully expanded their reach and used limited inputs. However, this affects the data points Mehta Can be used to serve ads.
Advertisers should pay close attention to this. How many users would sign up for a less personal ad? I’ve seen reports that Meta doesn’t hide this option – the user is prompted to make a choice. How will it affect performance?
Now that this is happening in the EU, it sets a precedent. We can see this elsewhere as well. This could be bad.