UK users will be able to go ad-less for £3.99 per month
Social media platform TikTok will now offer a £3.99 per month subscription plan for UK users who want to use the platform ad-free.
From this week, users will be able to sign up to an ad-free service, or choose to accept personalised ads. TikTok has argued its ad-free subscription will give more users choice over their platforms.
TikTok is the latest social network to introduce fees, with Snapchat introducing a paid tier for ad-free features, as well as Meta beta trialling paid new subscriptions on Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp.
It should be noted that those who pay for the subscription will no longer see ads from the company across the app, but will still see content posted by creators who are sponsored or paid to advertise products and services – most commonly tagged with #ad.
“Advertising on our platform is already helping thousands of British businesses reach new customers, increase sales and create jobs, while our new ad-free option gives people greater control over their experience,” said Kris Boger, TikTok’s UK managing director.
“Together, this ensures we continue to deliver real economic impact while giving our community the flexibility to engage with TikTok in the way that suits them.”
Unfortunately, this means that UK users will no longer be able to opt out of receiving targeted ads for free, and instead will have to choose the paid version to avoid personalised ads.
Pay or consent
This essentially brings in a ‘consent or pay’ model, which is an opt-in system that online platforms are using to ensure compliance with UK data protection law whilst maintaining a high-level of personalised data tracking – and making money from those who decline.
This has landed Meta in hot water within the EU, as its ‘pay or consent’ ad model may still be violating EU law, the European Consumer Organisation has confirmed. Under the Digital Markets Act, Meta was fined €200m as it violated rules around requiring consent to use people’s data for advertising.
The new model, rolled out in January 2026 “still fails to offer consumers the possibility to give free, specific, informed and unambiguous consent to personalised ads”. This, the consumer group argued, is a “crucial problem given Meta’s extensive data collection”.
