Explainer
How to pause, stop, delete or extend a Meta ad campaign
To pause or stop a Meta (Facebook) ad campaign, open Ads Manager and click the toggle beside the campaign so it turns grey; click it again to resume. Turning a campaign off keeps it and its results, deleting it cannot be undone, and a campaign that ended on schedule is extended by moving the end date in its ad set. Whichever you choose, you still pay for the ads that had already run.
Last updated
How to pause or stop a Meta ad campaign
Click the toggle next to the campaign in Ads Manager. Everything below comes from Meta's Business Help Centre and its Self-serve Ad Terms as they read on 13 October 2026. The help pages carry no publication date.
Meta's page on turning an ad on or off describes one control for both pausing and stopping: the toggle. Turning it off tells the delivery system to stop delivering, which Meta says may take a few minutes. The same steps answer how to pause a Facebook ad campaign and how to stop one for good; the only difference is whether you turn it back on.
- 01
Open Ads Manager
Go to Meta Ads Manager on a computer. - 02
Pick the level
Select the Campaigns, Ad sets or Ads tab at the top of the table. Turning off a campaign turns off every ad set and ad inside it; turning off one ad leaves the rest running. - 03
Click the toggle
Blue is on, grey is off. Click the same toggle again when you want delivery to resume.
Turning something off does not delete it. If the toggle will not turn back on, Meta suggests two things to check: the amount spent against your account spending limit, and your payment method.
One line in Meta's Self-serve Ad Terms (effective 22 August 2025) is worth knowing before you rely on an instant stop. You can cancel an order at any time, but your ads may run for 24 hours after you notify Meta, and you remain responsible for paying for all ads that run. The updated terms Meta has published to take effect on 30 October 2026 keep that sentence. In practice that means: expect a few minutes, and do not be surprised by a little spend after the toggle goes grey.
Off, deleted or completed: what each one does
A campaign that is not running is in one of three states. The table puts Meta's descriptions of them side by side.
| State | How it gets there | Can it run again? | Results |
|---|---|---|---|
| Off | You turn the toggle off, an automated rule you created turns it off, or it is scheduled to end. | Yes. Turn the toggle back on. | Stay in the normal Ads Manager view. |
| Deleted | You select it and click Delete. | No. Meta says deleted items cannot be restored, only duplicated. | Hidden from the default view. Still viewable with a filter, within Meta's 37-month reporting window. |
| Completed | The scheduled end date has passed. | Yes. Move the ad set's end date into the future. | Stay in the normal Ads Manager view. |
Archiving is the gap. The Ads Manager help pages listed at the end of this post do not describe a separate archive action or say how archived differs from deleted. The word appears once, as the name of the filter value Deleted and Archived used to find deleted items.
How to delete a Meta ad campaign
Select the campaign in Ads Manager and click Delete. Meta's page on deleting an ad, ad set or campaign recommends turning it off instead if you plan to use it again, because a deleted item cannot be restored.
- 01
Select what to delete
In Ads Manager, click Campaigns, Ad sets or Ads and select the item. - 02
Click Delete
Delete is in the action bar above the table. If it is not visible, Meta says to open More and choose Delete from the drop-down menu. - 03
Confirm
Click Delete on the confirmation screen.
Deleted campaigns, ad sets and ads disappear from the default view in Ads Manager, Ads Reporting and the Ads Manager app. Their results do not vanish. To see them again:
- 01
Open the search bar
In Ads Manager, click the search bar at the top of the page. - 02
Filter by delivery
Click Delivery, then choose Campaign delivery, Ad set delivery or Ad delivery. - 03
Choose Deleted and Archived
Select Is, pick Deleted and Archived from the values menu, and click Apply.
How long the results last is set by a general limit, not by the deletion. Meta says it keeps a maximum 37-month reporting window for ads metrics. An ad deleted more than 37 months ago can still be listed, but its reporting data will not be available.
Meta gives one practical reason to delete at all: with more than 200 ads in a campaign, removing inactive ones helps the campaign load faster in Ads Manager.
How to extend a Meta ad campaign
Edit the ad set and move its end date. The schedule lives at ad set level, and Meta's page on changing the schedule of an ad set says you can choose a new stop date, run with no end date, or extend an ad set that has already completed. Meta says this is available on a computer only, not on mobile.
- 01
Select the ad set
In Ads Manager on a computer, click Ad sets and tick the box next to the one you want to extend. - 02
Click Edit
Edit sits above the table and opens the ad set's settings. - 03
Change the schedule
In the Budget & schedule section, set a later end date or choose to run continuously. - 04
Publish
Click Publish. Meta's editing page says an edit is not live until it is published, and that a published edit replaces the old version with no way to reverse it.
If you try to edit an ad inside an ad set whose end date has passed, Meta shows error 1487007. Its page on that error gives the same fix: make the end date a future date, or run continuously.
Why is my Facebook ad campaign off?
Meta's troubleshooting page gives three reasons an ad shows Off in the Delivery column: you turned it off, an automated rule you created turned it off, or it was scheduled to end. Its list of delivery statuses explains the ones that look similar.
- Off. The toggle at that level is grey.
- Ads off or Ad set off. The campaign toggle is blue, but the ad set or ad beneath it is off. Meta recommends checking the status at all three levels.
- Completed. The scheduled end date has passed. Extend it as above.
- Scheduled or In review. Not off, just not running yet: the start date is in the future, or the ad is still being reviewed.
- An error icon. Something needs attention. Hover over the status to see what Meta says the problem is.
What you still pay after you stop
Stopping a campaign stops new spend. It does not cancel what the ads had already cost. Meta's page on when it charges you for ads says ads accrue costs as they run and are charged later. With automatic billing (PayPal and most credit and debit cards) you are charged when costs reach your payment threshold, and again on your monthly bill date for anything left over. Meta says this is why you may be charged several times in a month, or after your ads have stopped running.
Meta does not charge on the bill date if nothing is outstanding or if the accrued costs are under USD 1.00. That page covers automatic billing only; Meta says accounts that pay from available funds or by direct debit are charged differently. This is general information, not financial advice.
Pausing, the learning phase and boosted posts
A long pause has a cost. Meta's list of significant edits includes pausing an ad set for seven days or longer: the ad set goes back into the learning phase when you unpause it. A shorter pause is not on the list, and Meta does not promise that it leaves delivery untouched. Changing the schedule is not on the list either, though the schedule page carries Meta's general caution that some edits restart learning or send the ad back to review. Our post on the learning phase covers the full list.
Boosted posts are managed from your Facebook Page, not from the Ads Manager table, and one rule differs.
- Pause. Meta's page on pausing boosted posts says to open Ad Centre on your Page, find the boost, open the three-dot menu and choose Pause ad. Resume ad is in the same menu.
- Extend. Under Edit ad you can change the end date and the lifetime budget. The text, image and video cannot be edited once the boost is published.
- Delete. Meta's page on deleting boosted posts says the ad ends immediately and its results will no longer be available. That is stricter than the Ads Manager page, where deleted items stay viewable through a filter. If you want to keep a boost's numbers, pause it.
For which tool handles which job, see Ads Manager or Business Suite.
Sources
- Meta Business Help Centre: How to turn an ad on or off in Meta Ads Manager, undated, read 13 October 2026
- Meta Business Help Centre: Delete an ad, ad set or campaign in Meta Ads Manager on your computer, undated, read 13 October 2026
- Meta Business Help Centre: View campaign, ad set or ad delivery status in Meta Ads Manager, undated, read 13 October 2026
- Meta Business Help Centre: Troubleshoot why an ad isn't running in Meta Ads Manager, undated, read 13 October 2026
- Meta Business Help Centre: Change the schedule of an ad set, undated, read 13 October 2026
- Meta Business Help Centre: End date is in the past/your ad set schedule has ended, undated, read 13 October 2026
- Meta Business Help Centre: How to edit Facebook and Instagram campaigns in Meta Ads Manager, undated, read 13 October 2026
- Meta Business Help Centre: When Meta charges you for ads, undated, read 13 October 2026
- Meta Business Help Centre: Significant edits and learning phase, undated, read 13 October 2026
- Meta Business Help Centre: Pause or resume boosted posts, undated, read 13 October 2026
- Meta Business Help Centre: How to edit boosted posts from a Facebook Page, undated, read 13 October 2026
- Meta Business Help Centre: Delete boosted posts, undated, read 13 October 2026
- Meta: Self-serve Ad Terms, effective 22 August 2025, read 13 October 2026
- Meta: updated Self-serve Ad Terms, effective 30 October 2026, read 13 October 2026
Questions people ask
How do I pause or stop a Facebook ad campaign?
Open Meta Ads Manager, select the Campaigns tab and click the toggle next to the campaign so it turns grey. Meta says delivery stops within a few minutes, and turning a campaign off also turns off every ad set and ad inside it. Click the toggle again to resume.
How do I delete a Meta ad campaign, and do I lose the results?
Select the campaign in Ads Manager, click Delete in the action bar and confirm. Meta says a deleted campaign cannot be restored, only duplicated. Its results stay viewable by filtering delivery for Deleted and Archived, within Meta's 37-month reporting window.
How do I extend a Meta ad campaign that has ended?
On a computer, open Ads Manager, tick the ad set, click Edit and set a later end date in the Budget & schedule section, or choose to run continuously, then click Publish. Meta says a completed ad set can be extended this way, and that schedule changes are not available on mobile.
Why is my Facebook ad campaign off?
Meta gives three reasons for an Off status: you turned it off, an automated rule you created turned it off, or it was scheduled to end. If the campaign toggle is blue but the status reads Ads off or Ad set off, a level beneath the campaign is switched off.
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Keep reading
- The Meta ads learning phaseWhich edits restart learning, including a pause of seven days or longer.
- How to publish ads on MetaThe steps in Ads Manager, from campaign objective to Publish.
- Ads Manager or Business SuiteWhich Meta tool to open for which job, and how to log in.
- How to test ad creativeHow to decide which ad to turn off, and what to run in its place.
Mockingbird is an independent product from Onwards Analytics and is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by Meta. Meta, Facebook, Instagram, Meta Ads Manager and the Meta Ad Library are trademarks of Meta Platforms, Inc. Meta changes its tools often; check Meta's own help pages for the current detail before you rely on it.