Instagram and Facebook have rolled out new updates to their advertising systems with a focus on safeguarding younger users. The goal is to reduce minors’ exposure to certain ad content and give young people more control over the ads they encounter on the platforms.
The company explains the aim is to keep youth-friendly spaces on social networks safe, especially when advertisements are involved. The reasoning is that minors are not as equipped as adults to decide how their online data is used for advertising, a point echoed in the company blog.
Already, changes were applied to ads on Instagram by removing advertisers’ ability to target youths based on their interests and activities.
Starting in February, the platforms will deepen the restrictions that shape how ads reach minors on Instagram and Facebook. One notable adjustment is the removal of gender information from ad targeting so this data can no longer steer ad delivery.
In addition, user interactions from teens, such as viewing or liking posts, will not be used to infer the types of ads they should see.
Another significant change is that age and location are the only teen data points these platforms will use to display ads. According to Meta, knowing this information helps determine whether a teen is shown age-appropriate ads and which products or services are available where they live.
Manage ad types
Continuing this line of effort, Meta aims to grant minors more control over the ads they encounter. Beginning in March, teenagers will be able to manage the kinds of ads they see on Facebook and Instagram through a feature called Ad Subject Controls.
To access this, a teen would open Settings, choose Ad Preferences, and then tap Ad Topics. A search bar will appear where they can add topics to manage. They will have the options to Choose See Less or No Preferences for each selected topic.
This update expands on existing advertising standards, which already restrict ads for topics such as alcohol, financial products, or weight-loss products when shown to teens.
With Ad Subject Controls in place, minors can more fully decide what they do not want to see in ads, such as certain clothing styles or sports events, and they can opt out of ads from particular brands.
Finally, Meta provides a help page outlining the tools and privacy settings available on its platforms. The company also notes that the teen Privacy Center may offer additional resources to help young users understand and manage their privacy within the apps they use.