Instagram and Facebook to further limit ability to target ads to users under 18, remove option to target teens based on gender

Meta, which owns Instagram and Facebook, has revealed plans to make some changes to how it shows ads to younger users, announcing that it will remove the ability to show gender-based targeted ads to teens. This leaves the only information advertisers can use to target young people is age and location.

Continuing to Create Age-Appropriate Ad Experiences for Teens | Meta

As part of our ongoing work to keep our apps age-appropriate for teens, we're:

✅Showing teens ads based only on their age and location
✅Offering more ways for teens to control the types of ads they see
✅Adding info on why teens see certain ads https://t.co/bnHLqprcZX

—Meta Newsroom (@MetaNewsroom) January 10, 2023

Ads shown to teens on Instagram and Facebook are severely restricted by Meta. So far, Meta has regulated how advertisers can target and show ads to teens, adding the ability to target them based on their in-app activity, such as who they follow or who they like. had been deleted . In addition to this, Meta has clarified that from February 2023, it will remove the ability to target based on gender, leaving advertisers with only age and location information for targeting. This ensures that a user's gender does not affect the type of ads they see.

Meta said, “We recognize that teens are not as capable of making decisions as adults. We will further limit the information we use to

Also, from March 2023, `` Ad Topic Controls '' will be introduced, which allows young people to manage the types of advertisements displayed on Facebook and Instagram by themselves. With this feature, teens will be able to fine-tune the types of ads they see by opening 'Settings' in both apps, then 'Ad Settings' and selecting 'Show Less' or 'Not Interested'. You will be in control.

At the time of the announcement, the advertising standards basically prevent advertisements on topics such as alcohol, financial products, diet products and services from being displayed to young people under the age of 18. In addition to this, Meta states that young people themselves will have a function to hide some topics, which will result in a more appropriate advertising experience.