# Build and sync custom audiences

**Category:** [Ad Manager](https://help.totalctrl.app/hc/totalctrl/totalctrl-help-center/en-US/categories/ads-1)
**Updated:** 2026-08-19

## What audiences are for

Custom audiences let you define a group of people and push them to your connected ad platforms for targeting. Ad Manager keeps your audiences in one place so you can reuse them across Meta, Google Ads, and LinkedIn.
## Create an audience

- Open the **Audiences** page and start a new audience.
- Give it a **name** (required) and an optional description.
- Choose an audience type:
**Static** — a fixed list you build by uploading a CSV or adding members manually.
- **Rule-based** — defined by rules so membership can be evaluated from your criteria.

New audiences start in **draft** status until you sync them.
## Sync to your platforms

When an audience is ready, trigger a **sync** to push its members to your connected platforms (for example, Meta Custom Audiences or Google Customer Match). The audience status moves to **syncing** while the push is processed.
## Privacy note

Audience matching on ad platforms relies on hashed identifiers rather than raw personal details, which is consistent with how Ad Manager handles customer data elsewhere — see how conversion data is protected in [Set up a server-side conversion pixel](set-up-a-conversion-pixel).

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## Related Articles

- [Manage and control campaigns](https://help.totalctrl.app/en-US/articles/manage-campaigns)
- [Connect an ad platform](https://help.totalctrl.app/en-US/articles/connect-an-ad-platform)
- [Ad Manager overview](https://help.totalctrl.app/en-US/articles/ad-manager-overview)
- [Connecting and Managing Ad Accounts](https://help.totalctrl.app/en-US/articles/connecting-and-managing-ad-accounts)
- [Set up a server-side conversion pixel](https://help.totalctrl.app/en-US/articles/set-up-a-conversion-pixel)

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