Facebook is considering whether an ad-free version paid by subscriptions would spur more people to join the social network.

The company has studied such an option in the past, but now there's more internal momentum to pursue it in light of Facebook's recent privacy data scandal, Bloomberg reports.

Facebook declined to comment on the possibility of a subscription-based ad-free service.

A common reason people give for leaving the Facebook service are ads. The company generated virtually all its $41 billion in revenue last year by selling ads targeted with user data.

Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg and CEO Mark Zuckerberg spent much of Facebook's first-quarter earnings call touting the benefits of the ad-supported network, which, they said, allows the company to reach the most people, at every income level. But it seems that it's not the only way to run the business.