It’s official. No more detailed targeting exclusions…

The “Bug”

Back in May, some advertisers saw an alert indicating that detailed targeting exclusions would be removed on June 28th.

Meta denied it and said that the alert was a bug and sent in error. They claimed there were no immediate changes planned for detailed targeting exclusions.

The whole thing felt oddly specific and suspicious. Why would the alert appear? Was the “error” simply that this was announced prematurely?

It’s Official

Well, now it’s official. From Meta:

“Beginning July 29, 2024, we are removing the ability to use detailed targeting exclusions.”

So, the only error of the initial alert is that it suggested this phaseout would begin on June 28th.

If you are currently utilizing detailed targeting exclusions, Meta says that existing advertising will be unaffected until January 31 of 2025. You’ll receive warnings up until then, and such ad sets will then stop delivering.

You will not be able to edit or duplicate existing campaigns with exclusions, and you won’t be able to create new ad sets with detailed targeting exclusions.

Do You Still Have This?

While this process began on July 29th, Meta projects that it could take up to two months for it to complete. It’s possible that you can still exclude detailed targeting (I can).

Knock yourself out if that’s something you want to do.

Keep in mind that this is only relevant to original audiences. There has never been a way to exclude detailed targeting when using Advantage+ Audience.

I’ll share my thoughts on this change in a separate video.