Basic Targeting

Updated: Jul 28, 2026

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Ads in WhatsApp Status are available via the Marketing API. Learn more about ads in WhatsApp Status.

Basic targeting includes:

Demographics and Events

Location

Interests

Behaviors

Advertisers running housing, employment, credit ads, issues, election, or political ads who are based in the United States or running ads targeted to the United States have different sets of restrictions.

Demographics and events

Get basic demographic and location-based targeting data to define targeting from Targeting Search, then specify options in the targeting spec, which contains ad set attributes defining who should see the ad.

Note: You must specify at least one country in targeting, unless you use a Custom Audience.

Targeting by demographic

curl -X POST \
  -F 'name=My AdSet' \
  -F 'optimization_goal=REACH' \
  -F 'billing_event=IMPRESSIONS' \
  -F 'bid_amount=2' \
  -F 'daily_budget=1000' \
  -F 'campaign_id=<CAMPAIGN_ID>' \
  -F 'targeting={
      "geo_locations": {"countries":["US"]},
      "industries": [{"id":6009003307783,"name":"Accounting and finance"}],
      "life_events": [{"id":6003054185372,"name":"Recently Moved"}],
      "relationship_statuses": [2,4]
  }' \
  -F 'status=ACTIVE' \
  -F 'access_token=<ACCESS_TOKEN>' \
https://graph.facebook.com/v26.0/act_<AD_ACCOUNT_ID>/adsets

Fields

Name	Description
`genders` array	Genders to target. Defaults to all. `1` targets males, `2` targets females.
`age_min` int	Minimum age. Defaults to 18. If used, must be 13 or higher. If the app has custom settings for age restrictions, the app’s age restrictions will be used for ads with APP_INSTALL goals. For example, if you set `age_min` to 13 but your app’s age minimum is set to 18, 18 will be used in ads targeting.
`age_max` int	Maximum age. If used, must be 65 or lower.
`user_age_unknown` boolean	Reach people on WhatsApp whose age is unknown. Applies only to the WhatsApp Status placement Starting July 29th, 2026, if the WhatsApp Status placement is included and this field is not set, it defaults to true. Setting it to false allows businesses to exclude people on WhatsApp whose age is unknown⁠. Businesses will be able to opt out of including people on WhatsApp whose age is unknown at any time.

Location

Search and retrieve values for location targeting with Targeting Search. This targeting has two parameters: geo_locations to target locations, and optionally, excluded_geo_locations to exclude areas.

Use country_groups for geo_locations to target broader geographic regions such as Europe or North America.

Using radius can cause an error, code: 100, subcode 1815946, when targeting multiple locations. We recommend creating an ad for each location or not using radius in your call.

Fields

Name	Description
`countries` array	Country targeting. Requires array of country codes, see Targeting Search, Countries. Example: `'countries': ['US']`
`regions` array	State, province, or region. Available values, see Targeting Search, Regions. Limit: 200. Example: `'regions': [{'key':'3847'}]`
`cities` array	Specify `key`, `radius`, and `distance_unit`. For `key`, see Targeting Search, Cities. `radius` is a distance around cities, from 10 to 50 miles or 17 to 80 kilometers. `distance_unit` is mile or kilometer. Limit: 250. Example: `'cities': [{'key':'2430536', 'radius':12, 'distance_unit':'mile'}]`
`zips` array	Target Zip Code, See targeting search API. Limit: 50,000 (formerly 2,500). If you provide more than 2,500, the system creates an array known as `location_cluster` which represents a set of zip codes. Example: `'zips':[{'key':'US:94304'},{'key':'US:00501'}]` To read a `location_cluster` and see the locations targeted: `GET /location_cluster_ID`
`places` array	Provide a specific place. Limit: 200. Example:`"places":[{"key":129672430416115,"name":"SFO", "radius":10, "distance_unit":"mile"}]`
`custom_locations` array	Available for all objectives. Provide exact location in latitude and longitude or address as the center of an area. Also specify radius for your location from .63 to 50 miles, or 1 to 80 kilometers. `distance_unit` is miles or kilometers; default is mile. Limit: 200. PO Box alone is not supported in `address_string`. You must provide at minimum, a street address. Example:`'custom_locations':[{'address_string': '1601 Willow Road, Menlo Park, CA', 'radius': 5},{'latitude': 36, 'longitude': -121.0, 'radius': 5, 'distance_unit': 'kilometer'},]`
`custom_locations.latitude` float	Latitude of location
`custom_locations.longitude` float	Longitude of location
`custom_locations.name` string	Name for address. You can use with `latitude` and `longitude` values for geo location targeting without providing `address_string`
`custom_locations.radius` float	Radius around latitude/longitude, in miles unless otherwise in `distance_unit`. From 0.63 to 50 miles, or 1 to 80 kilometers.
`custom_locations.distance_unit` string	Optional. `kilometer` or `mile`; default `mile`
`custom_locations.address_string` string	Address at latitude/longitude, such as 1601 Willow Rd, Menlo Park, CA. Suggested format: street number street name, city, state/province, country. Exclude postal codes.
`geo_markets` array	Geomarkets using Comscore Markets. Limit: 2500. Example:`'geo_markets':[{'key': 'COMSCORE_MARKET:2001', 'name': 'New York, NY'}, {'key': 'COMSCORE_MARKET:2051', 'name': 'New Orleans, LA'},]`
`electoral_district` array	Key for electoral districts. Get districts at Targeting Search, Electoral. Example: `'electoral_districts':[{'key':'US:AK00'},{'key':'US:CA01'},{'key':'US:NY14'}]`
`location_types` array	The array `['home', 'recent']` is the only option available. If no `location_types` array is provided, it will default to `['home', 'recent']`. `recent`: People whose recent location is in a selected area, as determined from mobile device data. Not available to exclude locations. `home`: People whose stated location in their Facebook profile “current city” is in an area. Facebook validates this by IP and information from their friends’ profile locations.
`country_groups` array	Global geographical regions and free trade areas. See Targeting Search, Country Groups. Provide array of country group codes: `worldwide`: Worldwide. `africa`: Africa. `afta`: ASEAN Free Trade Area. `android_app_store`: paid apps supporting countries in Android app store. `android_free_store`: free apps supporting countries in Android app store. `apec`: Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation. `asia`: Asia `caribbean`: Caribbean. `central_america`: Central America. `cisfta`: Commonwealth of Independent States Free Trade Area. `eea`: European Economic Area. `emerging_markets`: countries in Emerging Markets `europe`: Europe. `gcc`: Gulf Cooperation Council. `itunes_app_store`: supported countries for iTunes app store. `mercosur`: MERCOSUR. `nafta`: North American Free Trade Agreement. `north_america`: North America. `oceania`: Oceania. `south_america`: South America. Example: `'country_groups': ['asia','mercosur']`

Examples

Target by countries

curl -X POST \
  -F 'name="My Reach Ad Set"' \
  -F 'optimization_goal="REACH"' \
  -F 'billing_event="IMPRESSIONS"' \
  -F 'bid_amount=2' \
  -F 'daily_budget=1000' \
  -F 'campaign_id="<AD_CAMPAIGN_ID>"' \
  -F 'targeting={
       "geo_locations": {
         "countries": [
           "US"
         ]
       },
       "facebook_positions": [
         "feed"
       ]
     }' \
  -F 'status="PAUSED"' \
  -F 'promoted_object={
       "page_id": "<PAGE_ID>"
     }' \
  -F 'access_token=<ACCESS_TOKEN>' \
https://graph.facebook.com/v24.0/act_<AD_ACCOUNT_ID>/adsets

Location targeting with exclusions

curl -X POST \
  -F 'name="My Reach Ad Set"' \
  -F 'optimization_goal="REACH"' \
  -F 'billing_event="IMPRESSIONS"' \
  -F 'bid_amount=2' \
  -F 'daily_budget=1000' \
  -F 'campaign_id="<AD_CAMPAIGN_ID>"' \
  -F 'targeting={
       "excluded_geo_locations": {
         "regions": [
           {
             "key": "3847"
           }
         ]
       },
       "geo_locations": {
         "countries": [
           "US"
         ]
       },
       "facebook_positions": [
         "feed"
       ]
     }' \
  -F 'status="PAUSED"' \
  -F 'promoted_object={
       "page_id": "<PAGE_ID>"
     }' \
  -F 'access_token=<ACCESS_TOKEN>' \
https://graph.facebook.com/v26.0/act_<AD_ACCOUNT_ID>/adsets

Target by zip codes

curl -X POST \
  -F 'name=My AdSet' \
  -F 'optimization_goal=REACH' \
  -F 'billing_event=IMPRESSIONS' \
  -F 'bid_amount=2' \
  -F 'daily_budget=1000' \
  -F 'campaign_id=<CAMPAIGN_ID>' \
  -F 'targeting={
      "geo_locations":{
          "zips":[{"key":"US:94304"},{"key":"US:00501"}]}
  }' \
  -F 'status=ACTIVE' \
  -F 'access_token=<ACCESS_TOKEN>' \
https://graph.facebook.com/v26.0/act_<AD_ACCOUNT_ID>/adsets

Target by custom locations, geomarkets, and location types

The following code sets up targeting for:

5 miles around 1601 Willow Road, Menlo Park, CA

5 kilometers around latitude: 36, longitude: -121.0

COMSCORE_MARKETS 2001 and 2051

curl -X POST \
  -F 'name=My AdSet' \
  -F 'optimization_goal=REACH' \
  -F 'billing_event=IMPRESSIONS' \
  -F 'bid_amount=2' \
  -F 'daily_budget=1000' \
  -F 'campaign_id=<CAMPAIGN_ID>' \
  -F 'targeting={
    "geo_locations": {
      "custom_locations": [
        {"address_string":"1601 Willow Road, Menlo Park, CA","radius":"5"},
        {
          "latitude": "36",
          "longitude": "-121.0",
          "radius": "5",
          "distance_unit": "kilometer"
        }
      ],
      "geo_markets": [
        {"key":"COMSCORE_MARKET:2001","name":"New York, NY"},
        {"key":"COMSCORE_MARKET:2051","name":"New Orleans, LA"}
      ],
      "location_types": ["recent","home"]
    }
  }' \
  -F 'status=ACTIVE' \
  -F 'access_token=<ACCESS_TOKEN>' \
https://graph.facebook.com/v26.0/act_<AD_ACCOUNT_ID>/adsets

Search and targeting

To target males age 20-24 within 10 miles of Menlo Park, CA, or living in Texas or in Japan:

Step 1

First, get Japan’s country code:

curl -G \
  -d 'location_types=["country"]' \
  -d 'type=adgeolocation' \
  -d 'q=japan' \
  -d 'access_token=<ACCESS_TOKEN>' \
https://graph.facebook.com/v26.0/search

Step 2

Get Texas’s region code:

curl -G \
  -d 'location_types=["region"]' \
  -d 'type=adgeolocation' \
  -d 'q=texas' \
  -d 'access_token=<ACCESS_TOKEN>' \
https://graph.facebook.com/v26.0/search

Step 3

Search Menlo Park, CA city code:

curl -G \
  -d 'location_types=["city"]' \
  -d 'type=adgeolocation' \
  -d 'q=menlo' \
  -d 'access_token=<ACCESS_TOKEN>' \
https://graph.facebook.com/v26.0/search

Step 4

Provide genders and age as age_min and age_max.

Step 5

The targeting spec is ready with country, region, and city codes:

curl \
  -F 'name=My First AdSet' \
  -F 'daily_budget=10000' \
  -F 'bid_amount=300' \
  -F 'billing_event=IMPRESSIONS' \
  -F 'optimization_goal=REACH' \
  -F 'campaign_id=<CAMPAIGN_ID>' \
  -F 'promoted_object={"page_id":"<PAGE_ID>"}' \
  -F 'targeting={
    "age_max": 24,
    "age_min": 20,
    "device_platforms": ["mobile"],
    "genders": [1],
    "geo_locations": {
      "countries": ["JP"],
      "regions": [{"key":"3886"}],
      "cities": [
        {
          "key": "2420605",
          "radius": 10,
          "distance_unit": "mile"
        }
      ]
    },
    "publisher_platforms": ["facebook","audience_network"]
  }' \
  -F 'status=PAUSED' \
  -F 'access_token=<ACCESS_TOKEN>' \
https://graph.facebook.com/v26.0/act_<AD_ACCOUNT_ID>/adsets

Target multiple cities

Set custom_type to multi_city and define either country or country_group as described before.

curl \
  -F 'name=My AdSet' \
  -F 'optimization_goal=REACH' \
  -F 'billing_event=IMPRESSIONS' \
  -F 'bid_amount=2' \
  -F 'daily_budget=1000' \
  -F 'campaign_id=<CAMPAIGN_ID>' \
  -F 'targeting={
    "geo_locations": {
      "custom_locations": [
        {
          "custom_type": "multi_city",
          "min_population": 500000,
          "max_population": 1000000,
          "country": "BR"
        },
        {"custom_type":"multi_city","country_group":"Europe"}
      ],
      "location_types": ["recent","home"]
    }
  }' \
  -F 'status=ACTIVE' \
  -F 'access_token=<ACCESS_TOKEN>' \
https://graph.facebook.com/v26.0/act_<AD_ACCOUNT_ID>/adsets

Parameters

Name	Description
`min_population` int	The minimum population threshold on which the cities are chosen for targeting.
`max_population` int	The maximum population threshold on which the cities are chosen for targeting.

Interest targeting

Target based on interests from someone’s timeline, from Pages liked or from keywords associated with Pages or apps someone uses. See Targeting Search, Interests.

To target people interested in soccer, first query:

curl -G \
  -d 'type=adinterest' \
  -d 'q=soccer' \
  -d 'access_token=<ACCESS_TOKEN>' \
https://graph.facebook.com/v26.0/search

Add this interest by name and id to a targeting spec, where path is the path of this interest in ads tools.

curl -X POST \
  -F 'name="My First AdSet"' \
  -F 'daily_budget=10000' \
  -F 'bid_amount=300' \
  -F 'billing_event="IMPRESSIONS"' \
  -F 'optimization_goal="REACH"' \
  -F 'campaign_id="<CAMPAIGN_ID>"' \
  -F 'promoted_object={
       "page_id": "<PAGE_ID>"
     }' \
  -F 'targeting={
       "facebook_positions": [
         "feed"
       ],
       "geo_locations": {
         "countries": [
           "US"
         ],
         "regions": [
           {
             "key": "4081"
           }
         ],
         "cities": [
           {
             "key": 777934,
             "radius": 10,
             "distance_unit": "mile"
           }
         ]
       },
       "genders": [
         1
       ],
       "age_max": 24,
       "age_min": 20,
       "publisher_platforms": [
         "facebook",
         "audience_network"
       ],
       "device_platforms": [
         "mobile"
       ],
       "flexible_spec": [
         {
           "interests": [
             {
               "id": "<INTEREST_ID>",
               "name": "<INTEREST_NAME>"
             }
           ]
         }
       ]
     }' \
  -F 'status="PAUSED"' \
  -F 'access_token=<ACCESS_TOKEN>' \
https://graph.facebook.com/v26.0/act_<AD_ACCOUNT_ID>/adsets

Here’s another example:

curl \
  -F 'name=My AdSet' \
  -F 'optimization_goal=REACH' \
  -F 'billing_event=IMPRESSIONS' \
  -F 'bid_amount=2' \
  -F 'daily_budget=1000' \
  -F 'campaign_id=<CAMPAIGN_ID>' \
  -F 'targeting={
    "geo_locations": {"countries":["US"]},
    "interests": [
      {"id":6003139266461,"name":"Movies"},
      {"id":6003397425735,"name":"Tennis"},
      {"id":6003659420716,"name":"Cooking"}
    ]
  }' \
  -F 'status=ACTIVE' \
  -F 'access_token=<ACCESS_TOKEN>' \
https://graph.facebook.com/v26.0/act_<AD_ACCOUNT_ID>/adsets

Fields

Name	Description
`interests` array	Array with `id` and optional `name` fields: `'interests':[{id: 6003139266461, 'name': 'Movies'}, {id: 6003139266462}, 6003139266463]`

Behavioral targeting

Target based on digital activities, devices people use, past or intended purchases, and travel. View options at Browse such as Frequent Travelers. See Targeting Search API.

curl -G \
  -d 'type=adTargetingCategory' \
  -d 'class=behaviors' \
  -d 'access_token=<ACCESS_TOKEN>' \
https://graph.facebook.com/v26.0/search

Add the behavior to targeting spec:

curl \
  -F 'name=My First AdSet' \
  -F 'daily_budget=10000' \
  -F 'bid_amount=300' \
  -F 'billing_event=IMPRESSIONS' \
  -F 'optimization_goal=REACH' \
  -F 'campaign_id=<CAMPAIGN_ID>' \
  -F 'promoted_object={"page_id":"<PAGE_ID>"}' \
  -F 'targeting={
    "age_max": 24,
    "age_min": 20,
    "behaviors": [{"id":6002714895372,"name":"All frequent travelers"}],
    "device_platforms": ["mobile"],
    "genders": [1],
    "geo_locations": {
      "countries": ["JP"],
      "regions": [{"key":"3886"}],
      "cities": [
        {
          "key": "2420605",
          "radius": 10,
          "distance_unit": "mile"
        }
      ]
    },
    "interests": [{"id":6003107902433,"name":"Association football (Soccer)"}],
    "publisher_platforms": ["facebook","audience_network"]
  }' \
  -F 'status=PAUSED' \
  -F 'access_token=<ACCESS_TOKEN>' \
https://graph.facebook.com/v26.0/act_<AD_ACCOUNT_ID>/adsets

Another example:

curl -X POST \
  -F 'name="My AdSet"' \
  -F 'optimization_goal="REACH"' \
  -F 'billing_event="IMPRESSIONS"' \
  -F 'bid_amount=2' \
  -F 'daily_budget=1000' \
  -F 'campaign_id="<CAMPAIGN_ID>"' \
  -F 'targeting={
       "facebook_positions": [
         "feed"
       ],
       "geo_locations": {
         "countries": [
           "US"
         ]
       },
       "behaviors": [
         {
           "id": 6007101597783,
           "name": "Business Travelers"
         },
         {
           "id": 6004386044572,
           "name": "Android Owners (All)"
         }
       ]
     }' \
  -F 'access_token=<ACCESS_TOKEN>' \
https://graph.facebook.com/v26.0/act_<AD_ACCOUNT_ID>/adsets

Fields

Name	Description
`behaviors` array	Array with `id` and optional `name` fields: `'behaviors':[{id: 6004386044572, 'name': 'Android Owners (All)'}, {id: 6004386044573}, 6004386044574]`

Learn more

Search Targeting - Query for Facebook’s native ads targeting options.

Audience Targeting

Special Ad Category

Other targeting:

Audience Network - Run ads on Audience Network and extend the reach of your link or app ads