Offline Conversions API

Starting with Graph API v17.0, the Offline Conversions API will no longer support offline events. Graph API v16.0 is the last version that supports offline events. We anticipate that the Offline Conversions API will be discontinued in the third quarter of 2024.

In February 2023, we announced that the Conversions API now fully supports offline events. We recommend that advertisers use the Conversions API for new integrations. We also recommend that advertisers with existing Offline Conversions API integrations convert their integration into a Conversions API integration before the third quarter of 2024 and not update their Offline Conversions API until they have successfully done so. Learn more about the Conversions API.


Use the Offline Conversions API to send offline conversion events and to see how many customers viewed or clicked Meta ads before converting.

Before You Start

To use this API, you need:

1. Meta Business Manager

If you don't have one, create one.

2. Meta App ID

For access to Marketing API. To create a Meta app:

  • Visit Business Manager > Business Settings.
  • Select Apps.
  • Click Add New App and follow the instructions.

3. App Review and Permissions

Rules around app review and permissions depend on how you are implementing our API:

Type Of ImplementationApp Review And Permissions

Direct Implementation

In this case, you are an advertiser looking to use offline conversions directly.


In this case:

  • Your app does not need to go through app review.
  • You do not need to request any permissions.

Partners Implementing As A Platform

In this case, you are a third-party partner offering offline conversions functionalities for advertisers that use your services.


In this case:

  • Your app must go through app review.
  • You must request the ads_management permission during app review.

4. Business Manager System User and Token

With system user access, your app can send data to Meta using the API. To create it:

  • Visit Business Manager > Business Settings.
  • Select System Users.
  • Click Add New System User.
  • Select Admin System User as the role for the system user.

An access token provides access to Meta data. To create system user access tokens:

  • Visit Business Manager > Business Settings.
  • Select System Users.
  • Select the system user and click Generate New Token.
  • Select your app > for scope, select ads_management.

5. Ad Account

You need an ad account to run ad campaigns on Meta. To create one, see Marketing API or Business Help Center: About your business settings in Meta Business Manager.

6. Grant System User Access to Ad Account

Grant your system user access to your ad account.

  • Go to Business Manager > Business Settings.
  • Select System Users.
  • Select the system user and click Assign Assets.
  • Select your ad account.

7. Offline Event Set

These are uploaded files with offline conversion data. When you create an ad, set tracking_spec to the offline event set ID to correctly attribute events. You can then create event sets, view stats on your imports, delete, and modify this data in Business Manager.

With older implementations, you could do offline event set CRUD operations at the Business Manager level to share event sets with other objects and entities.

Upload Event Data

You need specific access to create offline event sets, upload, or view data for an event set. You also need this access to assign these permissions to an ad account. You must be one of the following:

  • Business Manager admin
  • Admin system user who created the offline event set
  • Admin on the ad_account connected to the offline event set

See Offline Conversion Event Set, Reference.

1. Create Offline Event Set

curl 
  -F 'access_token=<SYSTEM_USER_ACCESS_TOKEN>' 
  -F 'name=offline_event_set',
  -F 'description=conversion data used for superbowl campaign',
  https://graph.facebook.com/<API_VERSION>/<BUSINESS_MANAGER_ID>/offline_conversion_data_sets

Make a HTTP POST:

POST /<BUSINESS_MANAGER_ID>/offline_conversion_data_sets HTTP/1.1
Host: graph.facebook.com
curl -X POST \
  -F 'access_token=<ACCESS_TOKEN>' \
  https://graph.facebook.com/<BUSINESS_MANAGER_ID>/offline_conversion_data_sets

The response includes an event set id:

{
  "id": <OFFLINE_EVENT_SET_ID>
}

Parameters


Parameter Description

name

type: string

Event set name.

Example: In store purchases, Lead registrations

description

type: string

Event set description.

Example: In store purchases for the Superbowl campaign

2. Assign Ad Account Permissions

To assign tracking and read permissions to an ad account:

POST /<OFFLINE_EVENT_SET_ID>/adaccounts HTTP/1.1
Host: graph.facebook.com
curl -X POST \
  -F 'access_token=<ACCESS_TOKEN>' \
  https://graph.facebook.com/<OFFLINE_EVENT_SET_ID>/adaccounts

Parameters


Parameter Description

business

type: integer

Assign ad account to this business ID.

account_id

type: integer

ID of ad account with offline tracking enabled.

3. Set Ad Tracking

When you update tracking_spec, we overwrite it. Make sure to do GET first, then append the associated String for the offline event set to the existing tracking_spec. See Ads Management or use Ads Manager. For example, provide an appropriate tracking spec:

curl \
  -F 'tracking_spec=[{action.type:"offline_conversion", dataset:["123"]}]' \
  -F 'access_token=<SYSTEM_USER_ACCESS_TOKEN>' \
  https://graph.facebook.com/<API_VERSION>/<AD_ID>

To update your ads's tracking spec:

POST /<AD_ID>/?tracking_specs=[{"action.type":"offline_conversion","dataset": <OFFLINE_EVENT_SET_ID>}] HTTP/1.1
Host: graph.facebook.com
curl -X POST \
  -F 'access_token=<ACCESS_TOKEN>' \
  https://graph.facebook.com/<AD_ID>/?tracking_specs=[{"action.type":"offline_conversion","dataset": <OFFLINE_EVENT_SET_ID>}]

Parameters


Parameter Description

action.type

type: string

Track this action for the ad group.

Example: offline_conversion

dataset

type: list<id>

ID for offline event set.

Example: 11111111111

4. Upload Offline Events

You should upload transaction within 62 days of the conversion. Upload the conversion data:

curl \
  -F 'access_token=SYSTEM_USER_ACCESS_TOKEN' \
  -F 'upload_tag=store_data' \
  -F 'data=[ \
    { 
      match_keys: {"phone": ["HASH1","HASH2"], "email": ["HASH3","HASH4"]}, 
      currency: "USD", 
      value: 16,
      event_name: "Purchase",
      event_time: 1456870902,
      contents: [
        {id: "A", quantity: 1},
        {id: "B", quantity: 2},
        {id: "C", quantity: 1}
      ]
      custom_data: {             
      },
    }, 
    { 
      match_keys: {"lead_id": "12345"}, 
      event_name: "Lead",
      event_time: 1446336000,
      contents: [
        {id: "A", quantity: 1},
        {id: "B", quantity: 2},
        {id: "C", quantity: 1}
      ]
      custom_data: {
        event_source: "email",
        action_type: "sent_open_click",
        email_type: "email_type_code", 
        email_provider: "gmail_yahoo_hotmail",
      }
    }, 
  ]'
  https://graph.facebook.com/VERSION/OFFLINE_EVENT_SET_ID/events

To send conversions, make a HTTP POST:

POST /<OFFLINE_EVENT_SET_ID>/events HTTP/1.1
Host: graph.facebook.com
curl -X POST \
  -F 'access_token=<ACCESS_TOKEN>' \
  https://graph.facebook.com/<OFFLINE_EVENT_SET_ID>/events

Parameters


Parameter Description

upload_tag

type: string

Required.

Track your event uploads.

Example: monthly, in-store uploads

data

type: json array

Required.

Includes number of events being uploaded. Upload a conversion event per Accounts Center account up to 2,000 events per API call.

Example: see example above

namespace_id

type: integer

Optional.

Scope used to resolve extern_id or tpid. Can be another data set or data partner ID.

Example: 12345

Use the same upload_tag for all event upload API calls in the same batch to group them. This helps you debug event uploads, and you should use this for any event uploads made in more than one API call.

Parameters within data include:

Parameter Description

match_keys

type: JSON dictionary

Required.

The identifying information we use to match people on Meta.

Example: {"phone": ["{HASH}","{HASH}"], "email": ["{HASH}","{HASH}"], "fn": "{HASH}",}.

event_time

type: integer

Required.

The UNIX timestamp of the conversion event.

Example: 1456870055

event_name

type: string

Required.

Type of event.

Example: ViewContent, Search, AddToCart, AddToWishlist, InitiateCheckout, AddPaymentInfo, Purchase, Lead, Other

currency

type: string

Required.

Three-letter ISO currency code for this conversion event. Required for Purchase events.

Example: USD

value

type: double

Required.

Value of conversion event. Required for Purchase events.

Example: 16.00

content_type

type: string

Optional.

Any valid Advantage+ catalog ads content_type.

Example: product

contents

type: JSON array

Optional. Required if you integrate your ads with catalog.

Required: id, quantity


Recommended: price, brand, category

Required: [ {id: "A", quantity: 1}, {id: "B", quantity: 2}, {id: "C", quantity: 1}]


Recommended: [ {id: "A", quantity: 1, brand: "Brand_A", category: "", price: 10.0}]

custom_data

type: JSON dictionary

Optional.

Information about this conversion event.

Example: {category: 'ICECREAM'}

order_id

type: string

Optional.

Unique identifier for each transaction or order in an offline event set. For example, for retail this can be a receipt ID.

Example: ATN10001, 123456

item_number

type: string

Optional.

Unique identifier to distinguish events within the same order or transaction.

Example: 1, a

For example, you can upload information with the data field:

{
  match_keys: MATCH_KEYS,
  event_time: EVENT_TIME,
  event_name: "Purchase",
  value: 400,
  currency: "USD",
  contents: [
    {
        id: "A",
        quantity: 1,
        brand: "brand_of_A",
        category: "Apparel & Accessories | Clothing",
        price: 100,
    },
    {
        id: "B",
        quantity: 2,
        brand: "brand_of_B",
        category: "Apparel & Accessories | Shoes",
        price: 50,
    },
    {
        id: "C",
        quantity: 1,
        brand: "brand_of_C",
        category: "Apparel & Accessories | Jewelry | Watches",
        price: 200,
    }
  ],
}

Use the same upload_tag for all event upload API calls in the same batch to group them. This helps you debug event uploads, and you should use this for any event uploads made in more than one API call.

Match Keys

match_keys is a set of identifiers to match people for attribution. See Custom Audiences from CRM Data for normalizing and hashing your data. Only SHA256 is supported and we do not accept unhashed data.

Please download this CSV file

for examples of properly normalized and hashed data for the parameters below.



Download (Right-click > Save Link As)
Parameter names Parameter Hashing required

Email Address(es)

email

YES

Phone Number(s)

phone

YES

Gender

gen

YES

Date of Birth

db

YES

Last Name

ln

YES

First Name

fn

YES

City

ct

YES

US States

st

YES

Zip codes

zip

YES

Country

country

YES

Apple Advertising Identifier

madid

YES

Android Advertising ID

madid

YES

Third-party user id

external_id

Highly recommended

The lead id from Lead Ads

lead_id

Do NOT hash

The response:

Name Type Description

num_processed_entries

integer

Number of processed entries

On errors you see an exception including invalid entries and the reason. Fix the errors or skip the data rows with errors and retry the API call.

View Upload Stats

A Business Manager admin or system user who created the offline event set can retrieve upload stats. Also any admin on the ad_account which is connected to the offline event set can read this data.

To view stats about offline event sets such as valid entries and matched entries:

GET /<OFFLINE_EVENT_SET_ID>/uploads HTTP/1.1
Host: graph.facebook.com
curl -X GET -G \
  -d 'access_token=<ACCESS_TOKEN>' \
  https://graph.facebook.com/<OFFLINE_EVENT_SET_ID>/uploads

View daily breakdowns of offline events in Offline Events Manager in Business Manager. For more precise breakdowns, make this call:

GET /<OFFLINE_EVENT_SET_ID>/stats HTTP/1.1
Host: graph.facebook.com
curl -X GET -G \
  -d 'access_token=<ACCESS_TOKEN>' \
  https://graph.facebook.com/<OFFLINE_EVENT_SET_ID>/stats

Parameters


Parameter Description

start

type: integer

Optional.

The UNIX timestamp. Query events starting at this time.

Example: 1456870055

end

type: integer

Optional.

The UNIX timestamp. Excludes events that occur this time onward.

Example: 1456870056

fields

type: string[]

Optional.

List of strings. This endpoint provides all fields until v3.0, and after that it provides count, event and time by default. Additional fields are: matched_count, attributed_count, usd_amount, matched_usd_amount, attributed_usd_amount, or duplicate_count.

summary

type: boolean

Optional.

Returns the average upload delay time in seconds when aggregation time is set to upload_time and this field is set to true.

aggr_time

type: string

Optional.

Aggregate results based on this set time. Options are upload_time and event_time. Default is event_time.

Create Offline Custom Conversions

Offline Custom Conversions currently do not backfill. We do not attribute data from event uploads made before you created the custom conversion. You cannot use offline custom conversion data for ads delivery optimization. See Custom Conversion, Reference.

To create a custom conversion using your offline events, make a POST:

POST /act_<ACCOUNT_ID>/customconversions HTTP/1.1
Host: graph.facebook.com
curl -X POST \
  -F 'access_token=<ACCESS_TOKEN>' \
  https://graph.facebook.com/act_<ACCOUNT_ID>/customconversions

Parameters:

Parameter Description

name

type: string

New custom conversion name.

Example: Offline purchases over 100 dollars

event_source_id

type: integer

Offline event set ID to track.

Example: 11111111111

custom_event_type

type: string

One of nine Meta Pixel standard events.

Example: "ViewContent", "Search", "AddToCart", "AddToWishlist", "InitiateCheckout", "AddPaymentInfo", "Purchase", "Lead", "CompleteRegistration", "Other"

rule

type: JSON-encoded string

Operators and data for your conversion rule. See Custom Conversion, Reference. For example, purchases over USD 100.

Example: {"and":[{"event_name":{"eq": "Purchase"}},{"value":{"gt":100}}]}

The response, on success:

{
  "id": <CUSTOM_CONVERSION_ID>
}

Measure with Custom Data

You can use the custom_data field to create rules that later determine if a conversion counts or not. This is similar to Offline Custom Audiences. The maximum number of custom conversions you can have per ad account is 40.

For example, include product category in uploads with custom_data:

data=[
  {
    match_keys: {"phone": ["<HASH>","<HASH>"], "email": ["<HASH>","<HASH>"]}, 
    currency: "USD", 
    value: 16,
    event_name: "Purchase",
    event_time: 1456870902,
    custom_data: {
      product_category: "ICECREAM",
    },
  },
]

Then use custom_data.{YOUR_CUSTOM_PARAM} to create a Custom Conversion rule:

curl \
  -F 'name=Ice Cream Purchasers' \
  -F 'custom_event_type=Purchase' \
  -F 'event_source_id=<OFFLINE_EVENT_SET_ID>' \
  -F 'rule={"and": [{"event_name":{"eq":"Purchase"}},{"custom_data.product_category":{"i_contains":"ICECREAM"}}]}' \
  -F 'access_token=<ACCESS_TOKEN>' \

"https://graph.facebook.com/<API_VERSION>/act_<ACCOUNT_ID>/customconversions"

Offline Conversions for Partners

To attribute offline conversion events to your client's ad, follow these steps. The API calls for most of these steps are same as when someone manages their own offline event set and campaign management.

  1. Partner - Create offline event set
  2. Partner - Share event set with client's Business Manager
  3. Client - Assign ad account offline tracking permission
  4. Client - Set offline tracking on ads
  5. Partner - Upload offline events, view stats
  6. Partner - Display ad insights for client

These steps vary depending on how your partner or agency permissions are set up with client ad accounts:

  • You may own all ad accounts, event sets or any other assets of your client.
  • You may have permission to your client's assets to perform certain actions.

To setup these permissions, see Business Manager Assets.

Partner - Share Event Set

Share the event set your client's Business Manager. Your client can then use the event set for ads tracking.

GET /<OFFLINE_EVENT_SET_ID>/agencies HTTP/1.1
Host: graph.facebook.com
curl -X GET -G \
  -d 'access_token=<ACCESS_TOKEN>' \
  https://graph.facebook.com/<OFFLINE_EVENT_SET_ID>/agencies

Parameters


Parameter Description

business

type: integer

ID of your client business manager

Client - Assign Ad Account Offline Tracking Permission

Share offline event sets created by a partner with their client. You need to be the Business Manager admin or admin system user who created the offline event set to enable tracking for ads under and ad account. If you are an admin on the ad account connected to the offline event set, you can also can do this. To make this API call, the business in the call has to have access to the offline event set.

You can assign offline event tracking and viewing permissions to an ad account with this call:

POST /<OFFLINE_EVENT_SET_ID>/adaccounts HTTP/1.1
Host: graph.facebook.com
curl -X POST \
  -F 'access_token=<ACCESS_TOKEN>' \
  https://graph.facebook.com/<OFFLINE_EVENT_SET_ID>/adaccounts

Parameters

Parameter Description

business

type: integer

Assign ad account to this business ID.

account_id

type: integer

Ad account ID with offline tracking enabled

Provide External IDs

There may be scenarios where you provide your own external ID to represent a customer and match them to someone. To do this, use extern_id following these guidelines.

Data partners who went through the match process can use partner ID as the namespace ID and extern_id as your tpid.

Provide only match_keys

We use match_keys to try to determine if the conversion data you shared can be matched to a Meta user. If you provide match_keys, you cannot also provide a namespace_id parameter.

Provide both match_keys and extern_id

We use match_keys to try to find people on Meta and forward mappings from {dataset_id, extern_id} to {facebook_user_id}. If you provide match_keys and extern_id, you cannot also provide namespace_id.

Provide only extern_id

If you already sent data with match_keys and extern_id, Meta uses {dataset_id, extern_id} to retrieve a {facebook_user_id}.

Provide namespace_id

The namespace_id parameter applies to the entire API call. You can use it to refer to another offline event set that is accessible or owned by a business or a partner profile ID. If you already sent data with match_keys and extern_id, Meta uses {namespace_id, extern_id} to retrieve a {facebook_user_id}. You should only provide one extern_id per row of data.

Insights and Attribution

See offline events attributed to an ad someone viewed or clicked. We attribute offline conversions after more than 1 day. This means you need to set your attribution window to 28d_view, or action_attribution_windows=['28d_view']', otherwise you will not see any conversions in reports. See Insights API and Insights Guide.

GET /act_<ADACCOUNT_ID>/insights HTTP/1.1
Host: graph.facebook.com
curl -X GET -G \
  -d 'access_token=<ACCESS_TOKEN>' \
  https://graph.facebook.com/act_<ADACCOUNT_ID>/insights

Parameters

Parameter Description

action_breakdowns

type: string[]

Break down of impression, click, or conversion data. Grouped by type of action: offline, online, and so on.

Example: ["action_type", "placement", "age", "gender", "country", "region"]

fields

type: string[]

The basic ad metrics.

Example: ["impressions", "clicks", "actions",]

level

type: string

Aggregate or de-duplicate data at this level of reporting results.

Example: ad or adset or campaign

date_preset

type: string

Relative timeframes to query metrics.

Example: last_n_days (n = 7,14,28) or yesterday or today or last_month or lifetime

Results look like this:

{
  "data": [
    {
      "date_start": "2015-12-01",
      "date_stop": "2015-12-01",
      "actions": [
        {
          "action_type": "offline_conversion.purchase",
          "value": 1
        },
        {
          "action_type": "offsite_conversion.lead",
          "value": 3
        },
      ],
      ...
    }
  ]
}

For example, to view attribution:

curl -G \
  -d 'access_token=<SYSTEM_USER_ACCESS_TOKEN>' \
  -d 'fields=unique_actions,action_values' \
  https://graph.facebook.com/<API_VERSION>/act_<AD_ACCOUNT_ID>/insights

The result looks like this:

{
  "data": [
    {
      "unique_actions": [
        {
          "action_type": "link_click",
          "value": 94
        },
        {
          "action_type": "offline_conversion",
          "value": 1
        },
        {
          "action_type": "offline_conversion.purchase",
          "value": 1
        },
        {
....
          "value": 1
        }
      ],
      "action_values": [
        {
          "action_type": "offline_conversion.purchase",
          "value": 27.5
        },
        {
          "action_type": "offline_conversion",
          "value": 27.5
        }
      ],
      "date_start": "2016-06-06",
      "date_stop": "2016-06-07"
    }
  ],
  "paging": {
    "cursors": {
      "before": "MAZDZD",
      "after": "MAZDZD"
    }
  }
}

Data Processing Options for US Users

For these two APIs, implement data processing options by adding data_processing_options, data_processing_options_country, and data_processing_options_state inside each event within the data parameter of your events.

Note: The App Events and Offline Conversions APIs are no longer recommended for new integrations. Instead, it is recommended that you use the Conversions API as it now supports web, app, and offline events. See Conversions API for App Events and Conversions API for Offline Events for more information.

To explicitly not enable Limited Data Use (LDU), specify an empty array for each event or simply remove the field in the payload:

{
    "data": [
        {
            "event_name": "Purchase",
            "event_time": <EVENT_TIME>,
            "user_data": {
                "em": "<EMAIL>"
            },
            "custom_data": {
                "currency": "<CURRENCY>",
                "value": "<VALUE>"
            },
            "data_processing_options": []
        }
    ]
}

To enable LDU and have Meta perform geolocation:

{
    "data": [
        {
            "event_name": "Purchase",
            "event_time": <EVENT_TIME>,
            "user_data": {
                "em": "<EMAIL>",
                "client_ip_address": "256.256.256.256"
            },
            "custom_data": {
                "currency": "<CURRENCY>",
                "value": "<VALUE>"
            },
            "data_processing_options": ["LDU"],
            "data_processing_options_country": 0,
            "data_processing_options_state": 0
        }
    ]
}

To enable LDU and manually specify the location, e.g., for California:

{
    "data": [
        {
            "event_name": "Purchase",
            "event_time": <EVENT_TIME>,
            "user_data": {
                "em": "<EMAIL>"
            },
            "custom_data": {
                "currency": "<CURRENCY>",
                "value": "<VALUE>"
            },
            "data_processing_options": ["LDU"],
            "data_processing_options_country": 1,
            "data_processing_options_state": 1000
        }
    ]
}

Manual Upload UI

The Offline Conversions API offers the option to manually upload your events from a .csv file. In this case, add Data Processing Options, Data Processing Country, and Data Processing State as columns inside your file. More information about this can be found in the upload user interface.


Learn more about Data Processing Options.