How updates to our cookies consent prompt and privacy controls in Europe may affect your ads and reporting

Starting on July 6, 2021, and rolling out gradually over the upcoming months, we’re updating our cookies consent prompt and introducing a new third-party data control for people in the European Region. These changes are part of Meta’s ongoing efforts to align our products to evolving privacy rules in Europe, such as updated regulatory guidance on the ePrivacy Directive.

The European Region is a specific list of countries including:

The European Union (EU)

Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Republic of Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden

Non-EU members, but in EEA-only/EFTA or Customs Union

[EEA Only/EFTA] Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway; Switzerland; [EU Customs Union] all Channel Islands, Isle of Man, Monaco; UK sovereign bases in Cyprus; [European Customs Union] Andorra, San Marino, Vatican City

Non-EU members, but part of European Outermost Regions (OMR)

Martinique, Mayotte, Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Réunion, Saint-Martin, Madeira, The Azores, Canary Islands

United Kingdom (UK)

United Kingdom (all British Isles)

The following is an overview of the expected changes and updates for people in the European Region starting July 6, 2021:

• We will evolve our existing cookie consent prompts for people in the European Region who are logged in to Facebook, Messenger or Instagram. The new consent mechanism includes two controls:

  • Our cookies on other apps and websites will enable people in the European Region to control whether Meta can record web and third-party app data received about them through its business tools.
  • Cookies from other companies will enable people in the European Region to control whether other companies can set or read cookies from their devices when using Meta technologies.
• We will provide people with the ability to revisit their cookie consent choices in Settings.

Note: People in the European Region must consent to the use of cookies before we are able to set or read any non-essential cookie or other tracking technology on their device.

There is no required action for advertisers as a result of these updates. Businesses that use Meta Business Tools still need to implement their own cookie consent protocols to comply with this Directive where applicable. For more information on cookie consent requirements in the European Region, please refer to the Cookie consent resource.

Additionally, we do anticipate an impact on campaigns active in the European Region. Businesses that advertise to people in the European Region might experience decreased performance. Please note that the full potential impact will not be noticeable immediately beginning July 6, 2021. We expect that the impact will unfold gradually, over the course of several months, as additional product updates are released.

There is no change to campaign setup as a result of these updates and businesses can continue to use existing campaigns. However, campaigns targeting ads to people in the European Region may begin to gradually experience decreased performance beginning July 6, 2021.

There are no fundamental changes to our delivery systems with these updates, but businesses may see some performance impact beginning July 6, 2021 as audience sizes decrease over time. Campaigns optimizing for offsite conversion events may temporarily disable delivering and reporting for people who don’t allow the use of cookies.

There is no change to how we will process data from people outside the European Region, or data from people in these countries who have allowed the use of cookies. We will continue to attempt to match third-party information shared with us, via Meta Business Tools and APIs, to Facebook accounts.

• Received via our Conversions API or customer list custom audience tool.
• Matched using contact information, such as email or mobile number, rather than a cookie ID or other device identifier.

Conversions API

No action is required for advertisers using the Conversions API.

If an individual does not provide consent to Facebook, or is based in the European Region and does not have a Facebook account, the individual’s identifiable app and web data shared using Conversions API will not be used where matched to the user through a cookie ID or other device identifier.

Conversions API data shared from offline sources matched to a user through data that is not an ePrivacy Directive identifier (like a phone number or email for phone calls or customer value scores) will not be impacted by ePrivacy Directive consent status.

Facebook SDK

No action is required for businesses who advertise using the Facebook SDK. The general guidance regarding how we treat user data for consenting and non-consenting users applies to user data sent to us via App SDK as well.

Meta Pixel

We will not set our Facebook Retargeting cookie on websites or apps if the user has refused or revoked consent to our third-party data control. We will stop setting or reading these cookies for non-users or for users who have refused or revoked consent.

Businesses can continue to set Facebook-specific first party cookies once they have obtained consent from people (per our Business Tools Terms). For more information about cookies, please see About cookie settings for the Meta Pixel.

• Consent and your site visitors
• How marketing industry and regulatory shifts may impact your ads and reporting