Starting April 7, 2025, Google will enforce a new policy limiting how long contacts can remain in customer match lists used for advertising on Google Ads platforms. The new maximum retention period will be 540 days. This change applies across all accounts using Google Ads, regardless of platform or provider.

Background to the change

• The contact retention period will be capped at 540 days. Any contacts that have been in your customer match list for longer than 540 days will be automatically removed by Google.
• Google will retroactively apply this rule, which means that the 540 day count begins from the original upload date of the contact.
• If a membership duration has previously been set to “never expire” or to a time longer than 540 days, it will be automatically changed to 540 days.
• Any future attempts to set a longer duration will trigger an error in Google Ads.

This change is part of Google’s initiative to improve data compliance and privacy handling across its advertising services.

Voyado online ads changes

To ensure you stay compliant and avoid any disruption to your ads, Voyado will automatically adjust your contact lists used for Google customer match to align with this new 540-day limit.

How things currently work is that Voyado sends information every night to Google based on changes in the configured segments/target audiences in Engage - for example, any new contacts that were added or deleted. After this change comes into force, we will send an update to Google whenever a contact has been in the customer match list for 540 days. This will ensure that the contact will remain in the customer match list.

Voyado will apply the fix proactively, so your ads can continue to run without issues. You’ll maintain current targeting performance with lists that stay compliant and up to date.

Customers who want to opt out of this automatic update can contact Voyado's support to get help. 

FAQ

Will this impact my campaign performance? 

No, your campaigns will continue to run as normal. The adjustment is purely technical to ensure compliance with Google’s updated policy. There will be no visible changes in your ads or results, and Voyado will handle everything behind the scenes unless you explicitly ask us not to.

Where can I read more about the change from Google? 

You can read Google’s announcement in full here. 

Why was this not communicated earlier? 

Voyado was made aware of the change on March 20th 2025. This was less than three weeks before this new policy was due to come into force.

I need help, what do I do? 

If you have further questions or want help understanding how this might affect your setup, feel free to contact Voyado's support at support@voyado.com. We are here to help

Article last reviewed 16 July 2025 12:06