Facebook to change how users are counted in its ad metrics

Facebook on Tuesday said it has made changes to the way user accounts are counted for Facebook and Instagram were integrated earlier this year, allowing users to link their accounts with a common email address or phone number. Users having multiple accounts were counted as one person for advertising purposes if they had linked their Facebook and Instagram accounts. Now, users that don’t have their Facebook and Instagram accounts linked will be considered as separate people for ads planning and measurement, the company said in a statement. Advertisers are likely to see an impact to campaign planning estimates and performance reporting, Facebook added, along with increases in pre-campaign estimates such as estimated audience size.