Meta introduces limit on targeting under-18 with ads

Starting February, Meta will remove the ability for advertisers to target users under the age of 18 on Facebook and Instagram by gender, to restrict how advertisers target kids. However, the company said that advertisers will still be able to use their age and location to target ads at kids.

In 2021, Meta had rolled back ad targeting based on the “interests” and “activity” – a catch-all term for the trove of data the company collects about users’ internet activity – of teen users.

In its latest update, the company said that advertisers will no longer be able to target teens based on in-app engagement, like Instagram and Facebook pages they follow and like.