Instagram ads to teens can no longer be gender-based

Meta is going to add new restrictions on the use of ads on Facebook and Instagram aimed at teens. For example, those ads can no longer be based on gender. This concerns users under the age of sixteen.

Meta comes with two new measures which will take effect from next month. In addition to the gender restriction, following certain posts or pages and placing likes will no longer affect which ads are served to teens on the platforms.

According to Meta, age and location are the only information about a teen that is used to show ads. According to the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, those two elements are important in serving teens ads that are age-appropriate and feature products and services available where they live. It is therefore not possible to completely disable advertisements for this group.

Starting in March, teens will have more ways to manage the type of ads they see. For example, if someone wants to see fewer advertisements about a certain genre or a certain TV show, it will be possible to indicate this. It is also still possible to hide certain or all advertisements from a specific advertiser.

Last year, Meta started turning on certain privacy settings by default for new Facebook users under the age of sixteen. The settings only allow teens’ friends to see their friends list, followed pages, and posts they’re tagged in. Also, by default, it is limited who can comment on public posts by a new user under the age of sixteen. Accounts of users under the age of sixteen have been shielded by default since 2021 and adults can no longer just send private messages to teenagers.