Meta will test new tools to let brands manage where their ads appear on Facebook and Instagram feeds

Meta, formerly Facebook, announced on Thursday that it will begin testing new content-based controls for Feed, designed to give advertisers control over where their ads appear on Facebook and Instagram feeds.

“Our Community Standards keep the platform safe by defining what is and is not allowed on our platform. However, we understand that businesses may have specific preferences above and beyond our Community Standards around how their ads appear next to certain content,” the company said in a blog post. 

Meta plans to test the new content-based controls in the second half of the year before rolling out more broadly in early 2023. The company says it has begun scoping and building these new controls for Facebook and Instagram Feeds focused on primarily English speaking markets.

The company, which partners with Zefr to provide independent reporting on the context in which ads appear in Facebook Feed, says they will work together to develop a solution to measure and verify the relevance of adjoining content to ads in the Feed, with the goal of starting with small-scale testing in the third quarter of this year and moving to limited availability in the fourth quarter.

“This solution will complement our existing third-party brand safety measurement offerings. As we reach limited availability with Zefr, Meta will work toward having the brand suitability integration opportunity open to all badged partners,” the company said. 

“Across Meta, we are designing suitability controls to give advertisers control over where their ads are shown. We previously announced our commitment to build content-based suitability controls to address concerns that advertisers have of their ads appearing adjacent to content that is not suitable for their brand preferences. We have been working closely with GARM as we develop these controls, which will be aligned with the GARM Suitability Framework,” Meta adds.