Meta (formally Facebook) has increasingly come under fire for its questionable advertising practices. To counteract the outcry Meta has added additional ad targeting restrictions for teen users. It is also continuing to prioritize age appropriate advertising experiences for teen users with many updates.
In addition, gender will no longer be an available metric for targeting. Though age and location are still fair game. With this new shift, engagement on its apps including Facebook and Instagram will not contribute to the types of ads teens consume.
What does all this mean? Advertisers will no longer be able to track teens across its platforms or use gender as a targeting option. Age and location will still be available because the data helps advertisers ensure relevancy, the company detailed in its post, but targeting efforts to the demographic will not go any further.
Meta is also expanding teens ability to control the ads that are served to them, providing additional tools within its Setting page for teens to choose to “see less” or make “no preference”. With the current restrictions Meta already prohibits ads about restricted categories such as alcohol, financial products and weight loss services. Meta will add information about the platforms tools and privacy setting to help teens understand and have control over their privacy across its platforms.
These new changes will create a barrier between advertisers and teens. Be sure your campaigns are gender neutral and age -appropriate!