If you’re scrolling through Instagram or Facebook in the EU and suddenly can’t move past an ad, you’re not alone. Meta has introduced a new type of advertising experience: unskippable ad breaks that pause your feed for several seconds. These interruptions are now part of the deal for users who opt out of personalized ads but don’t pay for Meta’s monthly subscription.

The move is tied to updated regulations across the EU, EEA, and Switzerland, which push platforms to give users more control over how their data is used for advertising. In response, Meta introduced two clear paths for European users: pay for an ad-free experience, or continue using the platform for free with ads. But within the free option, there’s now a second fork in the road