From 2026 Meta will introduce a new system in Europe that allows users to decide whether or not to receive personalized ads.
A choice that arises from the application of the Digital Markets Act (DMA) and significantly changes the digital advertising landscape.
For brands, agencies, and marketing professionals, this update represents a strategic challenge but also a great opportunity to build more solid, transparent, and truly effective communications.
Ads won't go away.
They will transform. And those who best adapt to this change will have a huge competitive advantage.
A new phase for European targeting
In the past, the power of Meta campaigns—on Facebook, Instagram, and Audience Network—was based on the ability to create granular segments based on user behavior, interests, and interactions.
With the new rules, some audiences will be able to opt out of personalization, reducing the precision of targeting.
What does this mean in concrete terms?
- less behavioral data available
- broader and less specific segments
- less predictable performances
- greater importance of companies' proprietary data
Targeting remains, but changes.
The focus shifts from “reaching everyone” to “reaching those who really matter.”.
The decisive role of first-party data
With this transition, the real competitive value for companies becomes what they own: data collected directly from users.
Newsletter, CRM, contacts, purchases, internal brand interactions:
These are the assets that will allow us to maintain high-performance campaigns even in a context of limited personalization.
Meta is investing heavily in the concept of first-party data activation, or the ability to use companies' proprietary data in a secure, traceable manner that complies with European regulations.
Companies that don't yet have a structured data collection strategy are entering a risk zone: less data = less visibility.
Creativity and content become more important than targeting
If targeting loses power, communication does not.
Indeed, creativity once again becomes one of the key elements for achieving results.
The difference between a successful campaign and one that fails will increasingly shift to:
- message quality
- relevance of the content
- brand consistency
- ability to speak to the user in a direct, clear and distinctive way
The context changes, but one principle remains:
If you don't communicate value, you don't convert.
Creativity is no longer an accessory.
It's what drives attention.
Adapt to the new model without losing performance
To continue to achieve concrete results, companies will need to review their advertising strategy on three levels:
1. Strategic
Rethink segmentation, funnels, objectives, and metrics.
Advertising will have to be based on larger but more informed clusters.
2. Creative
Produce stronger, more recognizable and differentiated content.
Storytelling, clear visuals and high-impact messages become the main lever.
3. Technical
Use advanced tools such as:
- Conversion API
- Synchronized proprietary data
- Server-side events
- Tracking compliant with privacy regulations
Technique is not a detail: it is the engine of performance.
This isn't the end of customization. It's the birth of a new model.
Many fear that reducing personalization will make ads less effective.
The reality is very different.
Personalization doesn't go away.
It evolves.
Users who choose to keep tracking active will receive even more relevant ads, built on clearer and less redundant data.
Those who forgo personalization will still be reachable, but will require stronger content and smarter strategies.
It's a natural selection of digital:
The winner will be the one who communicates best, not the one who has more data.
How brands should react from today
To prepare for 2026, immediate and strategic actions are needed:
- build a truly effective proprietary data collection system
- create content that can work on broader segments
- structure more solid funnels, which do not depend only on targeting
- integrate advanced technical tools to compensate for data loss
- communicate with coherence, clarity and a defined identity
It will no longer be enough to “run ads”.
It will be necessary building a communication ecosystem.
The future of advertising is in the hands of conscious brands
The change imposed by the Digital Markets Act is not an obstacle.
It's an invitation.
An invitation to communicate better, to build more authentic relationships, to value before asking for attention.
Companies that can view this evolution as an opportunity—rather than a limitation—will have a huge competitive advantage.
The future does not reward those who reach everyone.
Reward those who speak the right way to the right people.
If you want to adapt your advertising strategy to the new European scenario today, We can guide you through the transformation.
