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# Enable Advertising for Your Facebook and Instagram Accounts (Personalized Ads Required)

# Enable Advertising for Your Facebook and Instagram Accounts (Personalized Ads Required)

### Cause: “Less-Personalized Ads” or “No-Ads Subscription” Chosen in the Meta Account (EU/EEA/CH)

When a user connects their Facebook Page and/or Instagram Account to Ctrl+A, the campaign normally becomes eligible for delivery immediately.
If the campaign instead stays in **WITH_ISSUES** and you see an error message such as:
```
error_code: 3858412
error_message: "Because <account> chose to see less-personalized ads, you cannot create ads."
error_type: HARD_ERROR
status: PAUSED
```
then Meta has blocked the campaign due to **ad experience settings** chosen by the connected user.
This restriction applies specifically in the **EU, EEA and Switzerland** due to regulatory requirements introduced by Meta in late 2023.


## What Triggers the Block

In these regions, Meta requires every user to choose between:

1. **Using Facebook/Instagram free of charge with personalized ads**
2. **Paid subscription for no ads**
3. **Free usage with “Less-Personalized Ads”**

If a user selects either:

* **No-Ads Subscription**, or
* **Less-Personalized Ads**,

Meta restricts a wide range of advertising and monetization functions.
This affects:

* Ads created directly in Ads Manager
* Ads created for a Facebook Page
* Ads created for an Instagram account
* Ads created by third-party tools like Ctrl+A

Meta will not allow new ads to be created or existing campaigns to run until the user changes the setting.


## Important: Impact of the Facebook–Instagram Link

Meta’s published documentation states:

> “Running ads for a Facebook Page may not be available if the Page is linked to an Instagram account that has a subscription to use Meta products without ads, or has chosen to see less-personalised ads.”

This means:

* **Even if the Facebook Page itself is fully compliant**,
* **A linked Instagram account with restricted ad settings may prevent the Page’s ads from running.**

This behavior depends on the Page–Instagram link inside the **Meta Accounts Center**.


## Typical Scenarios Where Ads Are Blocked


### 1. User has selected **Less-Personalized Ads**

The user chose to see ads with limited data usage.
Meta does not allow this account to run ads or participate in partnership ads.


### 2. User has an active **No-Ads Subscription**

Meta does not display ads to this user and does not allow them to create ads.


### 3. Page is linked to an Instagram account with restricted ad settings

If the Page and Instagram account are linked in the Accounts Center, the restriction applies to both assets.


### 4. User has not yet made the required choice

Until the user selects one of the available ad experience options, Meta blocks editing or creating campaigns.


### 5. User is under 18

Advertising and monetization are limited.


## How to Fix the Issue

### Option A (Recommended): Enable **Personalized Ads**

This fully restores all advertisement functionality.

Steps:

1. Open **Instagram** or **Facebook**
2. Go to **Settings → Ads → Ad Preferences**
3. Select **“Personalized Ads”**
4. Close and reopen the app
5. Restart the campaign in Ctrl+A

This takes effect immediately.


### Option B: Remove the Linked Instagram Account (If the User Wants to Keep “Less-Personalized Ads”)

If the user does not want personalized ads:

1. Open **Accounts Center** (inside Facebook or Instagram)
2. Navigate to the connected profiles
3. Remove the affected **Instagram account** from the Facebook Page
4. Refresh the connection in Ctrl+A

After this change:

* Facebook Page ads can run
* Instagram ads remain disabled


### Option C: Cancel the **No-Ads Subscription**

If the user subscribed to the paid no-ads offering:

1. Cancel the subscription (via Meta Pay, Apple App Store, or Google Play)
2. Optional: request a refund within the platform’s 14-day window
3. Once the cancellation is processed, ads become available again


## Recommendations for Ctrl+A Users

* Keep **Personalized Ads** enabled on all accounts used for business advertising
* Avoid using the **No-Ads Subscription** on accounts linked to business assets
* If a campaign is blocked, first check:
**Instagram → Settings → Ads → Ad Preferences**


## Summary

Your campaign cannot start because Meta blocks advertising for users who have:

* Enabled **Less-Personalized Ads**, or
* Subscribed to **No-Ads**, or
* Linked a Facebook Page to an Instagram account with these settings

Ads are allowed again once the user either:

* Switches to **Personalized Ads**,
* Removes the Instagram account from the Page link,
* Or cancels the **No-Ads Subscription**.