đź’™ Facebook’s “Clear History” Tool Is Coming (And More Facebook Findings)

đź’™ Facebook’s “Clear History” Tool Is Coming (And More Facebook Findings)

Welcome back to our Favorite Facebook Findings (FFF) blog series!

In this quarterly post, we share some of the biggest news stories and updates to come from Facebook over the last few months. Not only that, we explain how these updates will impact RV and auto dealers

Over the past few months (and years), 9 Clouds’ Facebook specialists have attended webinars, read articles, and researched the biggest social media platform in the world. The one common theme we’ve heard recently: change is coming . . . and in big ways

Read on to get a glimpse of these changes in this new edition of FFF!

A Fresh and Clean Ads Manager

While there are plenty of big changes to come from Facebook in summer 2019, let’s look back at a change we hinted at in the last edition of FFF

An updated, cleaner Ads Manager interface is now a reality for many! The updates include new features that create a simpler and cleaner ad creation process, starting out with a new navigation experience.

Instead of being spaced out on separate tabs, the new Ads Manager allows you to easily access your Account Overview, Campaigns, Ad Sets, and Ads sections all in one tab on the left side of the screen.

A Fresh Facebook Ads Manager

A new side-by-side view lets you simultaneously interact with the main table while making edits to a campaign or viewing charts. 

Updated Ads Manager

The updated version of Ads Manager takes the current duplication feature and enhances it to include copy-and-paste functionality.

Unlike the standard duplication feature that allows you to duplicate only one campaign, ad set, or ad at a time, the new copy-and-paste feature allows you to copy multiple ads at once and paste them into a maximum of 20 ad sets at a time.

Copy Paste Feature in Ads Manager

Need to edit one small item in your campaign? Instead of opening the entire ad, you can now click the “Edit” button in the top menu bar to select which item you want to update, including the ad text, image, headline, UTM tracking, and more! 

Quick edits in the updated Ads Manager
Quick Edit in Ads Manager


While change can be hard sometimes, this refresh of Ads Manager is pretty slick, boasting several new updates that will greatly improve the ad creation process.

If you’re in denial about the change and want to work in the old version of Ads Manager for a little longer, you are able to manually switch back to the previous version — but don’t get too comfortable. The new Ads Manager interface will eventually become the default for everyone, so we recommend biting the bullet and working in the new version ASAP!

Learn more about what’s possible in the updated Ads Manager and how it differs from Business Manager in this post. ↓

New “Clear History” Feature for Facebook Users

Note: Facebook’s clear history tool is available for all users to access as of January 2020.

Over the past few years, Facebook has been heavily criticized for its lack of transparency and perceived failure to respect user privacy.

To prove that Facebook does respect its users and their privacy, the company has taken steps to give users more control of their own data while limiting access to this data by businesses like marketing agencies and auto dealers.

In 2018, the big story from Facebook was the end of Partner Categories targeting.

In 2019, the big story is that a new “Clear History” tool will be rolled out in the coming months, allowing users to disconnect their off-Facebook activity from their profile

The Clear History feature is designed to deliver more transparency for users by showing them a list of the apps and websites they have visited that contain the Facebook tracking pixel. When websites install the Facebook pixel, they are able to record visitor traffic, much like Google Analytics. 

Businesses can use this information captured through the pixel to target Facebook ads to a Custom Audience of web visitors. Targeting ads based on website traffic is extremely valuable for RV and auto dealers (and just about any other industry), but that could change with Facebook’s new Clear History tool.

When a Facebook user clears their history, Facebook will remove identifying information so that a history of the websites and apps they’ve accessed will not be associated with their Facebook account. This means the user will not be included in a Custom Audience of recent website visitors after clearing their history.

Why Clearing Facebook History Is NOT the End of the World for Marketers

If this news about clearing Facebook history is starting to make you sweat, don’t worry — everything is going to be okay

In order for the Clear History feature to have a significant impact on advertisers, a majority of Facebook users would need to clear their Facebook history after every single Facebook session. The reality of this actually happening is very slim, though it’s still a valid concern to monitor.

What can advertisers do about it? For one, don’t give up on the Facebook pixel. This is still an incredibly powerful tool that will help you in your Facebook advertising strategy.  

Second, the Clear History feature will not diminish your ad targeting capabilities if you have good customer relationship management (CRM) data. Facebook still allows you to upload a list of your leads and sales to create a Custom Audience for targeting in Facebook. From there, you can create quality Lookalike Audiences to reach people similar to them.

Need help making the most of your data? Unlock the power of your CRM with our freshly updated eBook, Lead Tracking for Auto Dealers!

For now, you can still take full advantage of ad targeting based on web traffic, but according to Facebook, the Clear History feature is set to roll out in the next few months. When we know more, we’ll be sure to keep you informed!

Stay in the Know with 9 Clouds

The only consistent thing about Facebook is that it’s always changing.

At 9 Clouds, we keep up with every Facebook update and tell you what it means for advertisers on our blog, eBooks, webinars, and other resources like our Facebook and Instagram Ads eBook!

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