Improved Ad Controls for Teens Coming Soon to Facebook and Instagram

Meta is updating its approach to its advertising toward teens by removing some tracking details and providing a bit more manual control.

The way Meta handles advertising to teenagers across both Facebook and Instagram will soon change. Teens on either (or both) platforms will have more direct control over what they want to see, while advertisers will 'only' be able to use their age and location for targeted ads.

Ad Topic Controls will give teens more of a say in the kinds of products either of Meta's social platforms will show them. They'll be able to go into their respective ad preferences to search for specific topics, then select an option to reduce (but not eliminate) ads of a given type.

Targeted advertising will also be dropping gender as a criterion for teens, instead focusing solely on age and location. This particular change doesn't require any direct involvement, as the option is simply being taken away from advertisers.

Similarly, Meta says that the posts and pages teens follow on Instagram or Facebook, respectively, will no longer have an impact on the ads they're shown.

Gender details in ads for teenagers will cease being tracked sometime in February, while Meta's expanded manual ad control options will roll out in March. Though its Teen Privacy Center is always available to help explain or manage online advertising privacy.