Meta is changing the advertising format for Facebook and Instagram users in the EU. Starting in January 2026, people will be able to either opt out of fully personalized ads or choose a minimally targeted option.
Meta is changing the advertising format for Facebook and Instagram users in the EU. Starting in January 2026, people will be able to either opt out of fully personalized ads or choose a minimally targeted option.
The new model was announced by the European Commission, which seeks real, rather than formal, choices from large platforms regarding the processing of personal data. Users will be shown a clear settings window: agree to the collection of a wide range of data for the most «accurate» advertising, or allow Meta to use a limited amount of information and see less personalized ads.
The changes were the result of a conflict between Meta and the European Commission in 2025. At that time, the regulator admitted that the company was violating European law on digital markets because it was effectively imposing a «pay or agree» scheme, when without consent to deep tracking, the user could hardly use the services normally.
Now Meta is formally committing to providing a full-fledged alternative. According to the European Commission, the rejection of maximum personalization should not make the platform inconvenient or force people to switch to paid subscriptions just for a basic level of privacy.
Once the new approach is launched in early 2026, the regulator will collect data from Meta itself, advertisers, human rights organizations and other market players. Brussels will assess how many people choose the «less personalized» option, how this will affect advertising revenues and whether the company is using hidden pressure mechanisms to persuade users to collect more data.
If the updated model is found to be contrary to the spirit or letter of European rules, the European Commission reserves the right to revisit the case and apply new sanctions. For users, this is another example of how European regulators are forcing tech giants to transform privacy settings from a «tick in the interface» to a real tool for controlling their own data.
Previously, dev.ua wrote about how the European Commission had previously found that Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok were not giving researchers sufficient access to data and were making complaint and appeal tools too confusing for users.
