Meta Ads · Status at source date: Newsletter archive
Meta auto-enables Related Media on existing ads
Belita Ribeiro has flagged that Meta is automatically enabling "Related Media" on new and existing ads, pulling additional creative assets into ads without operator approval. The feature mixes creatives from different funnel stages: prospecting and remarketing assets: in a single ad unit, often surfacing older creatives that no longer reflect current messaging or positioning.
What changed
Most operators have not been notified that the feature has been activated on their ads.
The opt-out is per-ad, not account-level. To disable Related Media, open each ad individually and check the Related Media section; if 10 or more creatives are listed instead of 0, the feature has been auto-enabled and needs to be turned off manually. The implementation pattern echoes Meta's auto-sync of website products into catalogues covered in Week 17: Meta is steadily expanding the surface area of automated creative augmentation, with opt-out rather than opt-in defaults.
Why it matters for advertisers
For you, this means we should immediately audit your active Meta ads, especially for accounts where prospecting and remarketing creatives are deliberately separated for performance reasons. Worth flagging this to media buyers and agency teams managing the account before the next creative refresh, since muddled funnel-stage attribution will compound the longer Related Media remains active.
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Meta auto-enables Related Media on existing ads
Belita Ribeiro has flagged that Meta is automatically enabling "Related Media" on new and existing ads, pulling additional creative assets into ads without operator approval. The feature mixes creatives from different funnel stages: prospecting and remarketing assets: in a single ad unit, often surfacing older creatives that no longer reflect current messaging or positioning. Most operators have not been notified that the feature has been activated on their ads.
The opt-out is per-ad, not account-level. To disable Related Media, open each ad individually and check the Related Media section; if 10 or more creatives are listed instead of 0, the feature has been auto-enabled and needs to be turned off manually. The implementation pattern echoes Meta's auto-sync of website products into catalogues covered in Week 17: Meta is steadily expanding the surface area of automated creative augmentation, with opt-out rather than opt-in defaults.
For you, this means we should immediately audit your active Meta ads, especially for accounts where prospecting and remarketing creatives are deliberately separated for performance reasons. Worth flagging this to media buyers and agency teams managing the account before the next creative refresh, since muddled funnel-stage attribution will compound the longer Related Media remains active.
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