DoubleVerify launches content-level controls on Meta platforms

DoubleVerify announced on February 18, 2025, the launch of content-level controls for Meta's Facebook and Instagram Feed and Reels. The digital media measurement platform expanded its brand suitability and media performance tools to help advertisers proactively avoid unsuitable content before ads are served.

Mark Zagorski, CEO of DoubleVerify, described the new controls as transformative for advertisers. "DoubleVerify's new content-level controls are a game changer for advertisers," Zagorski stated. "By combining content-level controls with post-bid measurement, we're enabling brands to maximize both the quality and impact of their campaigns. Advertisers can ensure their ads appear in environments that align with their brand, powering media effectiveness and boosting advertising ROI."

This February release builds on DoubleVerify's existing post-bid brand safety and suitability measurement launched in January 2024 for Meta's Facebook and Instagram Feeds and Reels. The company's expanded offering represents a comprehensive media authentication strategy that aligns protection controls with post-bid measurement.

Technical implementation details

DoubleVerify's solution operates through its proprietary Universal Content Intelligence classification engine, which analyzes multiple content elements simultaneously. The AI-powered system processes video, image, audio, speech, and text components to deliver content classifications at scale across Meta's platforms.

The platform employs an innovative key frame extraction method for video content analysis. Rather than examining each video frame individually, which proves repetitive and time-consuming, the technology focuses exclusively on critical moments where content changes occur. This streamlined approach delivers faster, more accurate analysis while consuming less computing power and reducing environmental impact.

Content-level controls evaluate inventory before impressions are delivered, automatically identifying content that falls below brand safety floors and does not align with suitability tiers. Post-bid measurement analyzes content after impressions are purchased, providing advertisers insights into ad delivery alignment with brand preferences. This dual approach enables brands to optimize future campaigns and media investment decisions.

Expanded category framework

DoubleVerify introduced 30 new and unique content-level avoidance categories with this release. The expanded categories include Youth and Young Adults, Youth Entertainment, and Gambling classifications. These additions offer advertisers precise control and protection tailored to specific brand preferences and regulatory requirements.

The content-level controls seamlessly integrate with DoubleVerify's existing brand safety infrastructure. Measurement data insights and content-level controls are accessible through DV Pinnacle, the company's unified service and analytics reporting platform, enabling advertisers to monitor and optimize Meta ad campaigns from a centralized dashboard.

Operational advantages

The new system provides three primary benefits for advertisers. End-to-end performance capabilities enable seamless alignment between content-level controls and post-bid measurement, improving campaign suitability rates while reducing media waste and enhancing ad performance across Meta's Facebook and Instagram Feed and Reels campaigns.

Operational efficiency features include automated, hourly refresh of content-level avoidance settings that require no manual intervention. This automation ensures real-time protection against emerging unsuitable content without demanding additional resources from marketing teams.

Trusted coverage delivers independent, third-party monitoring and protection of ad placements. The verification occurs outside Meta's native systems, providing advertisers with objective assessment of content suitability according to their specific brand standards.

Market context and significance

This development arrives during a period of intensified focus on brand safety across digital advertising platforms. The marketing community has increasingly demanded sophisticated content controls as AI-generated content proliferates and consumer expectations for content alignment intensify.

DoubleVerify's expansion on Meta platforms occurs alongside similar moves by competitors. Integral Ad Science unveiled its Content Block Lists feature for Meta platforms in October 2024, demonstrating industry-wide recognition of advertiser demands for pre-bid content controls.

The timing coincides with global political developments that have heightened advertiser sensitivity to content adjacency. DoubleVerify previously launched its AI-powered Inflammatory Politics and News category for Meta platforms in September 2024, enabling brands to filter controversial political content and deepfakes.

Platform expansion strategy

DoubleVerify's Meta enhancement follows a pattern of strategic platform expansion across major social media channels. The company launched pre-bid video controls for TikTok in April 2025, demonstrating commitment to comprehensive social media brand safety coverage.

The February announcement came three months after the company expanded its post-bid brand suitability measurement to include thirty unique content-level categories on Meta platforms. This July 2025 enhancement, announced by DoubleVerify, unified suitability controls and measurement across all content categories while providing comprehensive coverage in 34 languages.

According to CEO Mark Zagorski, the partnership with Meta focuses on delivering measurable value to advertisers. "Our partnership with Meta is focused on delivering real, measurable value to advertisers," Zagorski stated. "By unifying suitability controls and measurement across all of DV's content categories, we're giving brands the tools to drive stronger performance on Meta's Feeds and Reels, with more control, more transparency, and more impact."

Industry challenges and responses

The verification industry faces significant technical and competitive challenges that influence product development priorities. Recent legal challenges have highlighted the complexity of maintaining effective fraud detection while expanding into closed platform environments where data access remains restricted.

DoubleVerify's technology addresses scale challenges inherent in modern digital advertising through automated content analysis. The AI-powered approach enables protection across vast amounts of constantly changing content without requiring substantial human resources for manual review processes.

Marketing budget allocation trends continue favoring digital platforms over traditional media channels. Social media attracts significant marketer investments, while connected TV adoption rates exceed traditional television and radio allocations, according to industry research.

Future implications

The launch represents a significant advancement in advertiser control over social media ad placements. As platforms continue expanding their content offerings and user-generated content volumes increase, verification tools become essential for maintaining brand safety standards at scale.

DoubleVerify's comprehensive approach combining pre-bid controls with post-bid measurement establishes a framework other verification providers may adopt. The integration of content-level controls with existing measurement infrastructure demonstrates the feasibility of end-to-end brand safety solutions across major social platforms.

The development holds particular significance for regulated industries that face strict content adjacency requirements. Financial services, pharmaceutical, and alcohol advertisers benefit from granular category controls that ensure compliance with industry-specific marketing guidelines.

The technology advancement also addresses advertiser demands for transparency in digital media transactions. Independent, third-party verification provides brands with objective assessment capabilities outside platform-native systems, supporting more informed media investment decisions.

Timeline

• January 2024 - DoubleVerify launched post-bid brand safety and suitability measurement on Meta's Facebook and Instagram Feeds and Reels
• February 13, 2024 - DoubleVerify expanded brand safety controls with tiered "Made for Advertising" categories to provide granular control over MFA content
• April 7, 2024 - DoubleVerify launched content-level brand safety measurement for mobile apps with 75 avoidance categories
• September 6, 2024 - DoubleVerify introduced AI-powered Inflammatory Politics and News category for Meta platforms to filter controversial content and deepfakes
• October 10, 2024 - DoubleVerify announced pre-screen avoidance solution for Meta platforms alongside IAS content controls, expected to launch in early 2025
• April 15, 2025 - DoubleVerify launched pre-bid video controls for TikTok with enhanced dashboard capabilities
• May 22, 2025 - DoubleVerify faced class action lawsuit alleging securities violations and ineffective bot detection
• July 22, 2025 - DoubleVerify released 2025 Global Insights: North America Report documenting 4.6% brand suitability violation rate and 101% increase in bot fraud
• July 31, 2025 - DoubleVerify expanded post-bid brand suitability measurement across thirty content-level categories on Meta platforms
• February 18, 2025 - DoubleVerify launched content-level controls for Meta's Facebook and Instagram Feed and Reels

Key terminology explained

Content-level controls represent the core technology advancement in this announcement, enabling advertisers to evaluate and block unsuitable content before ad delivery occurs. These controls operate through automated systems that analyze inventory in real-time, identifying content that falls below brand safety floors or conflicts with advertiser suitability preferences. The technology provides proactive protection rather than reactive measurement, fundamentally changing how brands approach social media advertising safety.

Brand safety encompasses the fundamental practice of protecting advertiser reputation by ensuring ads appear alongside appropriate content that aligns with brand values and marketing objectives. This concept has evolved from basic content filtering to sophisticated AI-driven analysis that evaluates multiple content dimensions simultaneously. Brand safety tools have become essential as digital advertising scales and user-generated content proliferates across social platforms.

DoubleVerify operates as the leading digital media measurement platform that provides independent verification services to global advertisers seeking transparency and effectiveness in their digital campaigns. Founded as a software-as-a-service company, DoubleVerify trades on the New York Stock Exchange under ticker symbol DV and serves thousands of brands worldwide through its comprehensive suite of measurement, analytics, and optimization tools.

Meta platforms refer specifically to Facebook and Instagram Feed and Reels environments where this new technology deployment occurs. These platforms represent some of the largest social media advertising channels globally, processing billions of daily impressions across diverse content types including user-generated videos, images, and text posts. Meta's closed platform architecture presents unique technical challenges for third-party verification providers.

Post-bid measurement describes the analytical process that occurs after advertising impressions have been purchased and delivered, providing retrospective insights into campaign performance and content adjacency. This measurement approach enables advertisers to understand where their ads appeared, assess alignment with brand preferences, and optimize future media investment decisions based on historical delivery data and performance metrics.

Universal Content Intelligence represents DoubleVerify's proprietary artificial intelligence classification engine that analyzes multiple content elements including video, image, audio, speech, and text components simultaneously. This technology enables scalable content categorization across millions of pieces of content daily, providing consistent classification standards regardless of platform, language, or content format while maintaining accuracy and speed requirements.

Suitability tiers define the graduated classification system that enables advertisers to set specific content preferences beyond basic safety requirements, allowing for nuanced brand alignment decisions. These tiers accommodate different advertiser risk tolerances and brand positioning strategies, recognizing that content suitable for one brand may not align with another's marketing objectives or target audience expectations.

AI-powered analysis describes the machine learning and artificial intelligence technologies that enable automated content evaluation at the scale and speed required for modern digital advertising. These systems process vast amounts of content data in real-time, identifying patterns and classifications that would be impossible to achieve through manual human review while maintaining consistency and accuracy across global markets.

Campaign optimization refers to the ongoing process of improving advertising performance through data-driven adjustments to targeting, placement, and content adjacency controls. This optimization occurs throughout campaign lifecycles, utilizing insights from both pre-bid controls and post-bid measurement to enhance return on investment, reduce media waste, and improve audience engagement while maintaining brand safety standards.

Independent verification emphasizes the third-party nature of DoubleVerify's services, providing objective assessment of advertising delivery and content adjacency outside platform-native measurement systems. This independence offers advertisers unbiased insights into campaign performance and content alignment, supporting transparent media transactions and enabling more informed decision-making about platform investments and optimization strategies.

Summary

Who: DoubleVerify, a digital media measurement platform traded on NYSE under ticker DV, led by CEO Mark Zagorski, announced new brand safety tools for advertisers using Meta's Facebook and Instagram platforms.

What: Content-level controls that proactively evaluate and block unsuitable content before ad delivery, featuring 30 new avoidance categories including Youth and Young Adults, Youth Entertainment, and Gambling classifications, powered by AI-driven Universal Content Intelligence technology.

When: February 18, 2025, building on post-bid measurement capabilities launched in January 2024 and expanding on July 2025 enhancements that added thirty content-level categories.

Where: Meta's Facebook and Instagram Feed and Reels platforms, accessible through DoubleVerify's DV Pinnacle unified analytics reporting platform, targeting global advertisers seeking brand safety controls.

Why: To address advertiser demands for comprehensive brand safety protection amid growing concerns about content adjacency, providing end-to-end campaign suitability improvement, reducing media waste, and enhancing advertising return on investment through automated, independent third-party verification.