Meta · Facebook · Instagram · WhatsApp
How much does Meta earn from your data?
Meta is the one giant that still tells you, in its own filings: $57.03 per person worldwide in 2025 — and several times that in rich ad markets. If you use Facebook, Instagram or WhatsApp, this is where your appraisal starts.
| Region | Revenue per user / year | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| US & Canada | $250–300 | reported |
| Europe / UK | $72–92 | reported |
| Asia–Pacific | $22–28 | reported |
| Rest of world | $15–19 | reported |
How Meta turns you into revenue
Meta's ad machine sells one thing: precisely targeted access to 3.5 billion daily people. Its FY2024 filings put US & Canada ARPU at $233.42 against a Europe figure of $68.12 and Asia-Pacific at $21.28 — the same person, four different price tags, set entirely by regional ad demand. Worldwide revenue per person rose about 15% in 2025, and Q2 2026 revenue grew another 28% year over year on roughly 7% user growth, which is why the bands above run well past the 2024 baselines.
Nothing here requires Meta to sell your file, and it doesn't. The file is the factory, not the product: every like, watch, message metadata point and advertiser-supplied signal sharpens the targeting that advertisers pay a premium for. You are rented, annually, at compounding rates — over a decade, a typical North American user's attention is a $2,500+ asset at today's prices.
What the price is built on
- Everything you do across Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Threads — follows, watch time, reactions, search.
- Advertiser-supplied data: the Meta Pixel and Conversions API report what you do on other companies' sites and apps back to your profile.
- Ad interaction history — what you clicked, hid, or bought after seeing.
- Inferred interest and demographic categories built from all of the above.
Turn it down
Meta Ad Preferences ↗ shows and edits your interest categories and lets you disconnect off-platform activity ("Activity information from ad partners"). It won't cut Meta's revenue per user to zero — but it blunts the premium targeting. The full ranked plan, including broker opt-outs and your legal deletion rights, is on the take-it-back page.
Sources: Meta Platforms 10-K FY2025 & FY2024, quarterly earnings presentations (investor.atmeta.com). Working on the methodology page. Figures as of August 2026.
META IS ONE LINE OF YOUR TAG
Add your other platforms and get all three of your price tags.