How Fold works/Integrations/Meta Ads

AdvertisingLive integration

Meta Ads

Ad spend, campaign performance and ROAS — read-only.

OAuth 2.0 — no password sharedRead-only — we never write to your accountGDPR compliant

Your password is never shared

We never sell your data

Disconnect = data deleted instantly

Why founders connect Meta Ads

Ad spend is the easiest metric to overspend on without noticing. Fold puts your daily Meta spend, clicks, and purchase conversions next to your actual revenue from Stripe or Shopify — so you can see your return on ad spend in context rather than switching between Ads Manager and your payment dashboard.

How your data flows

From Meta Ads to your Fold dashboard

This is the exact sequence every time Fold runs its daily sync. Nothing runs outside this pipeline.

Meta Ads API

OAuth 2.0 token

You authorise Fold once via Meta Ads's own OAuth page. Fold receives a scoped, time-limited token — your login credentials are never seen or stored.

Read-only API requests

4 HTTP GET calls per sync

Fold makes 4 read-only requests to Meta Ads's API — the exact endpoints are documented in the section below. No write requests are ever made.

Filter & aggregate

Personal data stripped before storage

The raw API response is processed in memory. Only aggregate numbers (totals, counts, rates) are extracted. Any field containing personal information — names, emails, IDs — is discarded and never written to disk.

Stored in your account

AES-256 at rest · row-level isolation

The filtered snapshot is written to your isolated tenant in our database, encrypted at rest. Row-level security ensures no other Fold user can read your data — not even via a misconfigured query.

Shown in your dashboard

Overview · Analytics · AI Digest

The stored aggregate numbers surface across your Fold dashboard — the Overview tile, Analytics tab charts, and the AI-generated daily digest. No raw data from the API is ever returned to the frontend.

Step 1 — How you connect

The exact connection flow

Here is precisely what happens when you connect Meta Ads to Fold, step by step.

1Click "Connect Meta Ads" in your Fold Settings tab.
2You're redirected to Meta's Business login page (facebook.com).
3You log in with your Facebook account and review the permissions Fold is requesting.
4You select which ad account(s) to grant access to.
5Meta issues a scoped access token. Fold performs an initial sync.

Step 2 — Permissions we request

Exactly what access Fold asks for

We request the minimum permissions needed. No more.

ads_read — read-only access to ad account spend and performance data.
read_insights — access to campaign and ad-set level insights (impressions, clicks, conversions).
No write permissions. Fold cannot create, pause, edit or delete any campaign or ad.

Step 3 — API calls Fold makes

Every request we send to Meta Ads

These are the exact API endpoints Fold calls during each sync, and why.

GET /act_{ad_account_id}/insights

Fetch total spend, impressions, clicks and reach for the period.

GET /act_{ad_account_id}/campaigns?fields=insights

Campaign-level breakdown of spend and performance.

GET /act_{ad_account_id}/adsets?fields=insights

Ad-set level CPC and CTR for optimization insights.

GET /act_{ad_account_id}/adaccounts

List ad accounts linked to the Meta Business account.

API impact: Fold makes 4 Marketing API requests per sync. Meta's API has a rate limit based on an 'app score' — our requests are minimal and will not approach any limits.

What we store

Exactly what lands in our database

Every field we persist — with a real example and the reason it exists. Nothing more is stored.

Field	Example value	Why we store it
Total ad spend (period)	$1,240 this month	Ad spend KPI tile on Overview.
Total impressions	284,000 impressions	Reach metric.
Total clicks	4,320 clicks	Traffic driven by paid social.
Click-through rate (CTR)	1.52%	Campaign efficiency metric.
Cost per click (CPC)	$0.29	Ad cost efficiency metric.
ROAS (if conversion tracking enabled)	3.2×	Return on ad spend for AI context.
Spend by campaign	Retargeting: $480 / Prospecting: $760	Campaign breakdown chart.

What a daily sync actually stores

One day's record — verbatim

This is a real-looking example of the row Fold writes to your account after a single sync. Every field, every value — nothing hidden.

meta_ads_daily_snapshot

{

"date": "2025-04-23",

"spend": "1240.00",

"impressions": "284000",

"clicks": "4320",

"reach": "192000",

"conversions": "38",

}

No customer names. No emails. No transaction IDs. Just numbers.

What we never store

Data Fold never touches

These fields are explicitly excluded. Even if the Meta Ads API returns them, Fold ignores and discards them before any storage step.

Individual user IDs, email addresses or phone numbers in your Custom Audiences
Ad creative content (images, copy, videos)
Pixel event data or individual website visitor information
Your Facebook personal profile information
Your Meta Business Manager details beyond the ad account ID
Billing information or payment method details

What Fold never does

Hard limits — enforced at the API level

These aren't just policies — they're technically impossible given the permissions we request. Meta Ads's own API enforces them.

Create, edit, pause or delete any campaign, ad set or ad
Modify your audience targeting or custom audiences
Access your personal Facebook profile or posts
Access Facebook Pages or Instagram accounts
Share your ad performance data with any third party
Use your ad data to train AI models

Privacy note — Meta Ads specific

Fold only reads aggregated campaign-level metrics — the same numbers visible in your Meta Ads Manager. We have no access to the audience data, pixel data, or personal information of anyone who saw or clicked your ads.

Data retention

How long we keep it

Synced ad metrics are retained while your Fold account is active. Disconnecting Meta or closing your account purges all Meta-sourced data within 24 hours.

Refresh frequency

How often we sync

Automatic sync every 24 hours. Manual refresh available from Settings.

How to revoke access

You are always in control

You can disconnect Meta Ads from Fold at any time — from either side. Both options immediately stop all data access.

From Fold

Settings → Meta Ads → Disconnect. All synced Meta data is deleted immediately.

From Meta Ads directly

Facebook → Settings & Privacy → Settings → Apps and Websites → Fold Analytics → Remove.

Open Meta Ads settings

Security standards

How your credentials are protected

AES-256 encryption at rest

Your OAuth access token is encrypted with AES-256 before being written to our database. It is never stored in plaintext.

TLS 1.3 in transit

All API calls from Fold to Meta Ads use TLS 1.3. Your credentials cannot be intercepted in transit.

Read-only enforcement

Meta Ads's own API enforces the read-only permissions server-side. Even if Fold's code had a bug, the platform would reject any write request.

Row-level security

Your synced data is isolated in our database with row-level security. No other Fold user can query your data.

FAQ

Questions about the Meta Ads integration

Can Fold see who clicked my ads or who is in my Custom Audiences?

No. We read aggregated performance metrics only (totals, averages). We have no access to audience membership lists, pixel event logs, or any individual user data.

Can Fold pause or edit my campaigns?

No. We only request read permissions (ads_read, read_insights). Meta's API will reject any write operation from our token.

Does Fold access my Facebook personal account or Instagram?

No. The scopes we request are strictly limited to ad account insights. We have no access to your personal profile, news feed, pages, or Instagram account.