Meta's less personalised ads in the EU: what advertisers need to know

How it got here, with dates

The Digital Markets Act (DMA) is an EU law for the largest platforms. One of its rules says a platform must ask before combining a person's data across its services, and anyone who says no must still get an equivalent service that uses less of their data. The dispute with Meta is about that rule.

The dates up to April 2025 come from the Commission's press release of 23 April 2025. It says the two-way model did not give people the specific choice of a service that uses less personal data, and that Meta had 60 days to comply or risk periodic penalty payments. It also says the Commission was still assessing the November 2024 option at that point.

What each side has said

The Commission

In its notice of 8 December 2025, the Commission described two options: consent to share all data and see fully personalised advertising, or share less personal data and see more limited personalised advertising. It said it would collect feedback and evidence from Meta and others on the impact and uptake of the new model once it was live, and added: "Users in the EU must have full and effective choice". A Commission spokesperson said the case was not closed, The Current reported on 9 December 2025.

Meta

Meta disagrees with the April 2025 decision. In a newsroom post on 2 July 2025 it rejected the decision as legally wrong and said it was appealing. In its results announcement of 28 January 2026 it said it had recently aligned with the Commission on further changes to the less personalised ads offering. Its quarterly report filed on 30 July 2026 says the appeal is continuing and that further changes could be imposed while it runs.

Consumer groups

BEUC said on 17 March 2026 that the January 2026 version still breaches the DMA, the GDPR and consumer law, and that the wording steers people towards full personalisation. It asked the Commission to consider periodic penalty payments. That is BEUC's position, not a ruling.

What data less personalised ads use, according to Meta

Meta's announcement of 12 November 2024 is the clearest description. For someone who picks this option, Meta says ads are shown using only:

• Context. What the person sees in that particular session on Facebook and Instagram.
• A minimal set of data points. Age, location, gender, and how the person engages with ads.

The same post says some ads in this experience are ad breaks: they cannot be skipped for a few seconds. Meta's filings say the option is offered in the European Union, the European Economic Area and Switzerland.

Meta has also published its own performance figures. In the July 2025 post it said less personalised ads use almost 90% less data, and that early feedback showed 70% fewer onsite conversions and 61% fewer offsite conversions than personalised ads. These are Meta's numbers, published while it was arguing against the decision, and the underlying data is not public. Its 2026 filings describe the option as less relevant and less effective than its main ad products.

What it changes for an advertiser

Nothing in these sources says advertisers have to change how campaigns are set up. What follows is our reading of what Meta has described, not something Meta has stated.

If Meta's own conversion figures are near the truth, an EU campaign's results will depend partly on how many of the people it reaches have chosen this option. That share is the number nobody outside Meta and the Commission has.

What to do about it

• Read EU results separately. Look at your EU countries apart from the rest, so a shift there is visible and not averaged away by other markets.
• Make the first second self-explanatory. Name the customer or the problem in the image and the headline. An ad that only works when shown to a precisely chosen person is the most exposed. An ad break gives you a few guaranteed seconds, so use them on the main point.
• Match the country. Location is one of the few signals Meta says it keeps, so local language, currency and delivery terms are worth the effort.
• Test ideas, not small edits. Our guides on testing ad creative and how Meta ranks ads cover the method.
• Look at what is running locally. Our Meta Ad Library guide shows how to look up the ads other advertisers in your market are running to EU audiences.

What is not known as of October 2026

• How many EU users have chosen less personalised ads. The Commission said it would gather evidence on uptake. We found no published figure from the Commission or Meta.
• Whether the Commission considers the January 2026 version compliant. We found no decision closing the case and none imposing periodic penalties.
• The outcome of Meta's appeal. Meta's 30 July 2026 filing describes it as ongoing.
• Whether advertisers can see results split by the experience a viewer chose. We found no Meta documentation describing such a breakdown.
• Independent performance data. The only conversion figures we found are Meta's own from July 2025, before the January 2026 changes.

This post is general information, not legal advice. For the rules themselves, see the Commission's Digital Markets Act site.

Sources

• Commission finds Apple and Meta in breach of the Digital Markets Act, European Commission press release, 23 April 2025.
• Meta commits to give EU users choice on personalised ads under Digital Markets Act, European Commission, 8 December 2025.
• Facebook and Instagram to Offer Subscription for No Ads in Europe, Meta Newsroom, update of 12 November 2024.
• Why the Commission's Decision Undermines the Goals of the DMA, Meta Newsroom, 2 July 2025.
• Meta fourth quarter and full year 2025 results, filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, 28 January 2026.
• Meta Form 10-Q for the quarter ended 30 June 2026, filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, 30 July 2026.
• Meta's latest consent-for-ads model still unlawful according to consumer groups' analysis, BEUC press release, 17 March 2026.
• Meta will offer EU users option of less personalized ads, The Current, 9 December 2025.