Meta Audience Network is the ad placement that takes your Meta campaigns outside Facebook, Instagram and Messenger and into mobile apps that partner with Meta. It uses the same targeting, auction, delivery and measurement as your other Meta ads, so you don't build a separate campaign for it. Ads appear in partner apps as native, banner, interstitial or rewarded video ads.
The fact most advertisers don't know is how the formats differ in what people chose to see. A rewarded video is only shown in gaming apps, and the person picks it to earn an in-app reward. Interstitials are full-screen ads that, by default, can be skipped after 5 seconds. Banners are the small strips at the top or bottom of an app, and Meta's own page says they perform the least well of all formats because people are used to ignoring them.
How Audience Network fits into your Meta campaigns
Meta groups placements by how people experience them. Audience Network sits under Apps and sites, alongside Feeds, Stories and Reels, in-stream ads and Search. If you use Advantage+ placements, which Meta recommends, the system can include Audience Network automatically. You can also select it yourself when you choose your own placements.
In a Facebook campaign study, Meta says conversion rates were 8x higher among people who saw ads across Facebook, Instagram and Audience Network than among people who only saw the ads on Facebook. Treat that as Meta's own figure, not a promise for your account.
Supported objectives
| Objective | Supported on Audience Network? |
|---|---|
| Awareness | Yes, video only |
| Traffic | Yes |
| Engagement | Yes, video only |
| App promotion | Yes |
| Leads | Yes |
| Sales | Yes |
The four ad formats
| Format | What it looks like | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| Native | An ad designed to fit the look of the app | Meta says native ads are often better for engagement and earn higher eCPMs for publishers |
| Banner | A small ad at the top or bottom of the screen | Meta says banners perform the least well of all formats |
| Interstitial | A full-screen video ad inside an app, autoplay or tap-to-play | Skippable after 5 seconds by default; maximum length 2 minutes; can include playable ads |
| Rewarded video | A video people choose to watch for an in-app reward | Gaming apps only; rewards are for complete views, not clicks or installs; a full-screen display ad follows |
Meta also lists image, video, carousel, playable and collection as supported creative types, with eligibility varying by objective and placement.
Recommended specs
Meta's Audience Network specification page recommends 9:16 for native, banner, interstitial and rewarded video, and 16:9 for in-stream video. The video rules differ by placement:
| Native, banner, interstitial | In-stream video | Rewarded video | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Source ratio | 16:9 to 9:16 | 4:3 to 16:9 | 16:9 to 9:16 |
| Video length | 1 to 120 seconds | 5 to 30 seconds | 3 to 61 seconds |
| Sound required | No | Yes | Optional |
| Captions | No | No | No |
For images, Meta's minimum is 398 x 208 pixels for native, banner and interstitial placements, or 1,200 x 628 pixels for images with a link, and it recommends using the highest resolution you have. Carousels on Audience Network take 2 to 10 cards, with 1:1 and 1080 x 1080 pixels recommended. If you're sizing creative for Facebook placements too, my guide to the right Facebook ad image dimensions sits alongside this.
Running Audience Network on its own
Meta says you can select Audience Network as a standalone platform when you use the Audience Network in-stream video placement with the engagement objective, or alongside the Facebook in-stream video placement without Facebook Feed. Outside that setup, Audience Network runs through Advantage+ placements or alongside Facebook Feed.
Controlling where your ads run
Because Audience Network places ads in other companies' apps, brand control matters more than on Facebook itself. Meta's help section includes publisher and content block lists, which you can create in the Meta Brand Safety and Suitability Center and share across accounts, plus a publisher review process. If you're cautious about where your brand appears, set up a block list before you switch Audience Network on.
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What happens when someone taps your ad
- It opens a link in a new browser window.
- It prompts the person to install an app.
- It launches an app they already have.
Which of these happens depends on the objective you chose.
My advice
For most small businesses, leave Audience Network inside Advantage+ placements and let Meta decide when it's worth using, then check the placement breakdown in your results after a week or two. If you're promoting an app or a game, look at rewarded video and interstitials, because that's where Audience Network is strongest. And if you're new to Meta ads, read my Facebook ads guide for business owners before you start fine-tuning placements.
Frequently asked questions
What is Meta Audience Network?
It's a Meta ad placement that extends your campaigns to mobile apps that partner with Meta, using the same targeting, auction, delivery and measurement as your other Meta ads.
Which ad formats run on Meta Audience Network?
Native, banner, interstitial and rewarded video ads. Meta also supports image, video, carousel, playable and collection creative, depending on objective and placement.
How long can an Audience Network video be?
Meta's specs list 1 to 120 seconds for native, banner and interstitial, 5 to 30 seconds for in-stream video, and 3 to 61 seconds for rewarded video.
Can I block apps where my ads appear?
Yes. Meta offers publisher and content block lists, which you can create in the Meta Brand Safety and Suitability Center.
Is Audience Network the same as Facebook Audience Network?
Yes. It's the same product, now named Meta Audience Network.
