introduces new limits on teens’ ad targeting

Meta will stop targeting teens based on their gender starting next month. Advertisers won’t be able to show personalized ads to under-18-year-old users based upon their in app activity. This includes who they follow on Instagram, and what pages they like on Facebook.

The new changes will mean that personalized ads on Instagram and Facebook will only use a user’s age and their location to determine relevancy (where location is required to assess which products or services are available in a particular area).

Facebook and Instagram are soon to roll out new controls that teens can use (kids younger than 13 years old are technically not allowed to use these apps). Teens will have the option to see less of a topic and will control which ads they will be shown on Instagram.

Why we care. Advertisers won’t be able target users younger than 18 years old based on their in-app activity. They can also no longer target their age or geographic location, except where applicable. If you want to advertise a product/service to users below 18, you will need to rethink your strategy.

It’s not new. Meta recently released privacy updates that are available to all users under 16 years old, and 18 in certain countries. Beginning in November, Facebook will automatically default to more private settings for teens when they sign up. Meta suggests making these settings manually for teens who are already using Facebook. These privacy settings are now:

• Who can see their friends’ list?
• Who can see who, what pages and what lists they are following?
• Who can see the posts they have tagged in?

Meta was penalized 390 millions euros ($414 Million) this month after European Union regulators discovered it had illegally forced users into accepting personalized ads.

Google blocks ads targeting children under 18 years old. Google has updated its policies regarding minors online in 2021. It now allows those aged 18 and under to remove images from search. We’ll be introducing a new policy in the coming weeks that allows anyone under 18 or their guardian to request the removal from Google Image results.” Mindy Brooks is the product and UX director for children and families.

YouTube will make the default upload mode private for children aged 13-17. For those below 18 years old, SafeSearch will automatically be turned on by Google Search. Under 18s will not be allowed to change their location history.

The post Meta introduces new limits on ad targeting for teens was first published by Search Engine Land.