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TikTok has officially joined the growing list of social media platforms moving towards a “consent or pay” model with the launch of a new monthly subscription service in the UK.
Starting this week, users aged 18 and over will begin receiving notifications offering an ad-free experience for £3.99 (approximately $5.44) per month.
The rollout, dubbed “TikTok Ad-Free,” follows pilot testing in select global markets last year. According to the company, the subscription aims to give users greater control over their platform experience.
Kris Boger, TikTok’s UK Managing Director, emphasised that while advertising remains a vital engine for British businesses to reach customers and create jobs, the new tier offers “the flexibility to engage with TikTok in the way that suits them.”
A key driver for this change is compliance with the UK’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Under these laws, companies are prohibited from collecting personal data for advertising purposes without explicit user consent.
By offering a paid tier, TikTok provides a legal alternative for those who refuse to be tracked: users can either pay to escape the “ad-targeting machine” or continue using the service for free by consenting to have their data used for personalized ads.
Subscribers will no longer see ads served directly by TikTok in areas like the “For You” feed. However, the company clarified that users will still see content from creators who are paid to promote products, typically marked with “#ad.” Crucially, TechCrunch reports that for those who pay, TikTok will stop using their personal data for advertising purposes entirely.
Industry experts suggest this marks a fundamental shift in the digital economy. Social media analyst Matt Navarra told the BBC that the industry is moving towards a “two-tiered social internet,” where privacy and control are increasingly treated as premium features rather than standard rights.
TikTok follows in the footsteps of Meta (which owns Facebook and Instagram) and Snapchat, both of which have introduced similar paid models. While the plan is currently rolling out across the UK, TikTok has not yet confirmed if or when the subscription service will expand to the US market.
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