Meta says that the increased price for iOS and Android users is due to the fees charged by Google and Apple for access to their services.

This comes as a major reversal in strategy for Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who had previously claimed Facebook would never charge users to remove ads.

Meta claims that the change is necessary due to new regulations from the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), requiring users to clearly consent to their data being used in advertising.

That means users who do not pay will be considered as having consented to their personal information being used to target them with adverts.

In a statement, Meta says: ‘It will give people in the UK a clear choice about whether their data is used for personalised advertising