Tired of seeing cheesy ads on the right side of Facebook pages? The social network may eventually give users the option of paying for an ad-free experience, according to a BGR report.
It points to a patent Facebook has filed titled
“Paid Profile Personalization” that could “replace advertisements or other elements that are normally displayed to visitors of the user’s profile page that are otherwise
controlled by the social networking system.”
Ad boxes might be placed with favorite photos, and paying users would also be able to rank their friends, display special status messages,
and have more freedom around messaging.
It seems Facebook could introduce an ad-free subscription option even without a patent. When given a choice, Web users have generally opted for the
free, ad-supported version of a service. That would likely be the case with Facebook as well, though some might be willing to pay to be free of the site’s behaviorally-targeted advertising.