How to turn off Advantage+ in Ads Manager

[seogootwit]

I have a business targeting a specific city but the total potential audience is double the city population size, I'm assuming because of Advantage+ Lookalike.

I've done the "Switch to original audience options", selected "Manual engagement campaign", deselected "Reach more people likely to respond", selected "Current city only" and the select gender "hack", nothing seems to work. I don't want to waste half my budget on people I can't service.

 

[seogootwit]

That’s normal behavior now — Meta expands your audience even when you set a specific city.

Even if you disable Advantage+ options, the system can still show a larger “potential reach” because it includes people recently in the area or considered relevant.

A few things you can try:

• Set location to “People living in this location” (not recently in)
• Avoid Advantage+ audience entirely
• Use radius targeting instead of city name
• Add local interests or behaviors to narrow it further

Keep in mind: the displayed audience size is often inflated — actual delivery is usually more localized if your signals are clear.

How do I "Avoid Advantage+ audience entirely", I dont see an option for that.

 

[NexaRank]

This is normal — Meta often expands audience even if you select one city.

Try:

• Set location to “People living in this location”
• Turn OFF Advantage+ / expansion
• Use small radius targeting instead of city name
• Mention city in ad copy to filter leads

Audience size is just an estimate, not exact.

 

[duonght12]

I have a business targeting a specific city but the total potential audience is double the city population size, I'm assuming because of Advantage+ Lookalike.

I've done the "Switch to original audience options", selected "Manual engagement campaign", deselected "Reach more people likely to respond", selected "Current city only" and the select gender "hack", nothing seems to work. I don't want to waste half my budget on people I can't service.

That’s normal — Meta’s estimated audience is not real reach, it’s just a potential pool and often gets inflated (especially with Advantage+).
Even if you lock it to a city, Meta can still expand slightly based on signals, and the numbers aren’t 100% accurate anyway.
What matters more:

• Check actual delivery (reach/impressions), not estimated audience
• If your results (CTR, conversions) are local → you’re fine
• If you really want tighter control, turn off expansion where possible and avoid Advantage+ setups

But honestly, don’t overthink the audience size — focus on performance.
If the ads are converting locally, the “extra audience” isn’t really wasting your budget

 

[NAM AGENCY]

You're encountering a "systemic problem" with Meta Platforms — it keeps trying to expand the audience even though you've limited it.

Quick and effective solutions:
- Change to "People living in this location"
→ Avoid visitors
- Don't select a city → Use PINs + a radius of 1–5km
→ The best way to geo-block
- Exclude surrounding areas
→ Block spillovers
- Avoid Advantage+ → Run manual campaigns to maintain control

 

[Mr.Lee Agency]

This is very normal behavior for Meta. Even if you limit your reach to a specific city, Meta can still expand a bit based on signals, and the numbers aren't 100% accurate anyway; this is how Meta works. Don't worry too much about customer reach; focus on the content of your advertising campaign. A customer base outside your target area can also generate high revenue for you.

 

[Luca Marketing Agency]

Normally, we use the drop pin option and set the location to “People living in this location” (not “recently in”)

 

[Dodi AGC]

once you pass the learning phase and the AI understands your real customers, it'll naturally optimize and find better leads for you anyway