Fewer personalized Meta ads in Europe. Is this the new ad crisis?

In the upcoming weeks, European Facebook and Instagram users will face a big decision. They can either:

• pay for an ad-free experience, 

• stick with the free version that serves up personalized ads, 

• or try a new option with less targeted ads based only on basic details like age, location, gender, and app activity from just the past two hours.

This new, less personalized option comes with a catch: you’ll see ads that may feel out of place and have to watch a few seconds of non-skippable ads. Sound familiar? It’s similar to how YouTube has been handling ads for years.

So why is Meta rolling out these changes? It’s all about pressure from EU regulators. After a court ruling required Meta to get explicit permission to use personal data for ads, the company adapted. 

Now, EU users will get notifications about this new ad option, prompting them to choose between a paid subscription or the free version with ads. Dismissing this notification is possible at first, but soon it’ll be front and center until a choice is made. And if you change your mind, there’ll always be an option in ad settings to update your selection and control data usage.

On top of that, Meta is lowering subscription prices: web users will now pay €5.99 (down from €9.99), and mobile users on iOS and Android will pay €7.99 to cover app store fees.

For indie hackers and small businesses, this shift could be a challenge. Personalized ads have been key in helping businesses efficiently reach the right audience, something small businesses heavily rely on to stay competitive.

In Europe, small businesses make up over 99% of all companies and employ over 100 million people. Every euro spent on Meta ads brings in €3.79 in revenue on average. But with less personalization, this return could dip.

Meta’s new options are going live across all 27 EU countries, as well as Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein, reaching users over 18.