Recently, I discovered that Google is making a significant change that could impact how I manage ads. Starting from April 1, 2026, Google will block any inactive developer tokens from uploading Customer Match data through the Google Ads API.
In a heads-up to developers like me, Google has sent out messages explaining this upcoming change. If I haven’t uploaded Customer Match data using my developer token in the last 180 days, I won’t be able to do so through the Ads API anymore.
What’s changing: If I fall into that inactive category after April 1, any attempts to upload Customer Match lists through the Google Ads API will simply fail. Google advises moving these tasks to the Data Manager API. I’m reassured that this change only affects Customer Match uploads; other campaign management activities will continue as usual in the Google Ads API.
Why Google says it’s doing this: According to Google, the Data Manager API provides a more modern and unified data ingestion system across its platforms, featuring stronger security protocols. It also offers functionalities that aren’t available in the Ads API, such as confidential matching and improved encryption, reflecting Google’s push for centralized and secure audience data management.
Why this matters to me: If neither I nor my developers have interacted with Customer Match uploads over the last six months, this could be a sudden disruption. Post-April 1, 2026, this previous routine will be obsolete, causing errors in place of successful uploads.
The takeaway: I need to verify if my developer token has been recently used for Customer Match and plan for a transition to the Data Manager API before Google implements this new policy.
First noticed: This update was initially spotted by Paid Search specialist Arpan Banerjee, who shared the information he received from Google on LinkedIn.
Inspired by this post on Search Engine Land.
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