Are we ready to pay for online services without targeted advertising?

Understand the new business models in digital services

If part of the web content is offered “free of charge”, i.e., at no monetary cost in exchange for the use of users' personal data, many business models coexist.

Some, such as in video or audio streaming services, have adopted paid subscription models that allow access to their content or additional features (known as the freemium model). Others, through cookie pay walls, base their business model on a “consent or pay” logic, i.e., they give their users the choice between accepting the use of trackers or paying a sum of money to access their site.

Several types of services can be concerned by such logic: audio and video streaming, video games, social media, press services, health and fitness tracking, and generative artificial intelligence (AI).

To better understand the evolution of these business models, an online survey was conducted from December 18 to 23, 2024, on a representative sample of 2,082 French people aged 15 and over. It was carried out by the Harris Interactive polling institute.

The survey examines French people's attitudes toward paid subscription models, particularly when they offer an alternative to targeted advertising. It provides insights into the demand for this type of subscription depending on the service, and French people's willingness to pay for it.

Subscription as an alternative

The Harris poll confirms the democratization of paid subscriptions. However, it also shows that this option is not the preferred choice of those surveyed—although the results vary greatly depending on the service in question.

For example, the study reveals that more than half of French people (56%) pay for a subscription to a video-on-demand service, at an average cost of €20 per month. This proportion decreases when it comes to audio services (27%) or video games (18%).

For the other services studied, however—health and fitness tracking, generative AI, online news, and social media—the proportion of subscribers does not exceed 10%, with average amounts ranging from €12 to €16. However, between 24% and 33% of those surveyed say they pay or are willing to pay for these services. In other words, a significant proportion, well above those who currently pay, say they are willing to pay for a service that is currently “free”.

A shift in the monetisation of digital services

These financing modalities - subscriptions or “consent or pay” models - have long remained marginal for digital services such as the press, social networks, and online video games, which were financed mainly, and sometimes exclusively, by targeted advertising.

The emergence of new economic models has thus further highlighted the fact that services presented as “free” were in fact based on another form of remuneration, derived from the exploitation of users' personal data, sometimes in a way that was highly intrusive to their privacy.

In this context, where alternatives now exist, the Harris poll shows that, depending on the service concerned, between 25% and 48% of internet users would be willing to switch from free, ad-supported access to a paid subscription free of targeted advertising. On average, these people would be willing to pay a significant monthly subscription fee of between €5.50 and €9, depending on the service offered:

There is therefore a large pool of people interested in paid services enabling them to better protect their personal data. The survey also shows that people are willing to pay more for a service when they already have a paid subscription to that kind of service.

In the case of social networks, 72% of people willing to pay would only provide an amount less than €5, and 88% less than €10. However, the survey highlights that 18-24 year olds and those who already have a paid subscription are willing to pay more for a version without targeted advertising.

These results show that users have a fairly accurate perception of their willingness to pay for a service, even if this varies according to individual preferences. They therefore shed light on users' expectations and their ability to freely give their consent.

Data protection, a key factor in choosing digital services

These results show that, regardless of whether they subscribe to additional features or content, people value the protection of their personal data.

This finding is also reflected in the fact that 64% of respondents say they take care to monitor their browsing data, for example by changing their browser settings or using private browsing. This proportion rises to 71% among 15-34 year olds. 

More generally, the survey also shows that 51% of respondents consider data protection to be one of the three most important criteria when choosing a digital service. More specifically, 21% rank it as their top criterion, a figure close to those who prioritize price (26%) or quality (19%).

Key criteria for choosing a digital service

Overall, these results highlight the French public's keen interest in protecting their personal data and confirm the relevance of the CNIL's approach: offering more options to enable users to better protect their privacy and ensuring that their preferences are respected.