Facebook ads targeting is the set of choices you make in the Audience section of an ad set: locations, age, gender, languages and detailed targeting (interests, behaviours and demographics), plus custom and lookalike audiences. You can build a new audience each time or reuse a saved one, and Meta may now reach beyond some of those choices when its system expects better results.
That last part matters more than it looks. Meta says Advantage+ detailed targeting can show your ad to people outside your detailed targeting when it thinks you'll get more or cheaper results, and it doesn't touch location, age or gender. So treat interests as a hint and locations as a fence, unless you tick the box that lets Meta go further.
The targeting options Meta gives you
| Option | What it does | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| Locations | Country, state, province, city, congressional district, ZIP or post code | Most objectives also let you type Worldwide, a region such as Europe, or a free trade area |
| Age | An age range for the ad set | The top setting is 65+, which reaches everyone over 65. The floor is 13, and higher in some countries (Australia is 16) |
| Gender | Women, men or all genders | Not available when your audience includes teens |
| Languages | People who use certain languages | Also removed for teen audiences |
| Detailed targeting | Interests, behaviours and demographics | Built from signals such as ads people click and Pages they engage with |
| Devices | All devices, mobile or desktop | Set under Placements, not Audience |
| Custom and lookalike audiences | Your own lists, site visitors or people like them | You can include or exclude them |
What detailed targeting is built from
Detailed targeting is the interests, behaviours and demographics layer. Meta's own examples are the interest Blues music, the behaviour Frequent travelers and the demographic In college. According to Meta, it draws on factors including:
- Ads people click
- Facebook Pages and posts people engage with
- Relevant groups people joined or events they RSVPed to
- The mobile device people use and the speed of their network connection
- Installed apps or games
If you want ideas for which interests to try, the same logic applies on Instagram, and our Instagram ads interests list shows where to find them and how they're grouped.
How to set your targeting in Ads Manager
- Open Meta Ads Manager and create a campaign, or edit or duplicate an existing one.
- Go to the Ad set level and open Audience.
- Choose Create new audience, or load a saved audience.
- Add Locations. Enter one location at a time, or bulk upload a long list.
- Set Age, Gender and Languages.
- Add Detailed targeting to include people by interests, behaviours or demographics.
- Scroll to Placements if you want to limit devices to mobile or desktop.
Location targeting limits
Locations have more rules than any other setting. These are the numbers and limits Meta lists for the Locations box:
| Location type | Limit or rule |
|---|---|
| Countries | Up to 25 |
| Cities | Up to 250 |
| ZIP or post codes | Up to 50,000 |
| Radius | Meta picks a default radius; you can adjust it for a city or a dropped pin, not for ZIP codes, states or countries |
| Sanctioned locations | Can't be targeted (Meta names Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia, Sudan and occupied Ukrainian regions) |
| Very small countries | May fail the audience size check on their own; target them inside a group such as Europe or Worldwide |
Two settings change who sees the ad. When you pick a city or region, Meta may tick Reach more people likely to respond to your ads by default, which adds people interested in travelling to or buying in that place. Untick it if you only want people in that area. And exclusions work on both current and home location: someone who lives in an included place can still see your ad while visiting an excluded one.
When Meta reaches past your targeting
There are two Advantage+ features to know about, and they work differently.
| Feature | What it changes | What it leaves alone |
|---|---|---|
| Advantage+ detailed targeting | Can expand beyond your interests, behaviours and demographics when it predicts better results | Location, age, gender, language and exclusions still apply |
| Advantage+ audience | Lets Meta's AI find the audience instead of you defining it, using signals such as past conversions, Meta Pixel data and earlier ad interactions | You can still share audience suggestions |
Meta recommends A/B testing Advantage+ audience for almost every campaign type, with one clear exception: it says Advantage+ audience isn't recommended for retargeting campaigns. That's worth remembering if your ad is aimed at people who already visited your site. Meta also notes that once an audience is expanded, the estimated audience size no longer reflects everyone who could see the ad.
Targeting is only half of the setup, and our guide to Facebook bid strategies explains the bidding options that sit beside it.
Targeting rules for teens and special categories
If your audience includes people under 18 (or older in some countries), Meta removes a long list of options worldwide. Gender, detailed targeting, language, locations smaller than a city, website and customer list custom audiences and lookalike audiences are all unavailable. In the EU, EEA and Switzerland, ads can't deliver to anyone under 18 at all.
Housing, employment and financial products ads run as a Special Ad Category, and Meta says those campaigns have limited or unavailable audience options. If you can't see Locations or can't select an option, Meta's first checks are whether you have full access to the ad account and whether your Special Ad Category settings allow it.
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Delivery depends on more than your settings, and our guide to Meta Andromeda explains the retrieval engine behind it.
My verdict
Set your locations and age with care, because those are the controls Meta still treats as hard limits. Be lighter with interests: Meta openly expands them when it thinks it can do better, so piling on twenty interests buys you less control than it looks. If you're new to this, start with the structure in our Facebook ads guide for business owners and use audience insight tools to decide who you're aiming at before you open Ads Manager.
Related guides live in the Facebook Help: 80 Guides to Pages, Groups, Ads, Stories and Fixes.
Frequently asked questions
What is the minimum age you can target on Facebook ads?
Meta says the minimum age on Facebook and Instagram is 13, so every ad targets people at least 13, and some places set it higher, such as 16 in Australia. Ads in the EU, EEA and Switzerland can't deliver to anyone under 18.
Can I target a ZIP code or postcode on Facebook?
Yes. You can add ZIP or post codes in Locations, up to 50,000 of them. You can't adjust the radius on a ZIP code, because the whole area is included.
Does Facebook still let you target interests?
Yes. Interests are part of detailed targeting, alongside behaviours and demographics. Advantage+ detailed targeting may show your ad to people outside those interests when Meta expects better results.
Why can't I see some targeting options?
Options disappear when your audience includes teens, when the campaign is a Special Ad Category such as housing, employment or financial products, or when you don't have full access to the ad account.
Can I stop Meta from showing my ad outside my city?
Yes. Untick Reach more people likely to respond to your ads, which Meta may tick by default when you choose a city or region.
