Meta engage-through attribution: link clicks only, 5-second views

By Piyush Sachdeva · Performance marketer. Founder of Performance Marketing News and Social Masla. · Drafted with AI assistance and checked against the linked official sources.

Published Oct 14, 2026Announced Mar 3, 2026Last verified Oct 14, 2026

On 3 March 2026 Meta redefined click-through attribution for website and in-store conversions to count only link clicks, moved conversions from shares, saves, likes and other non-link clicks into the engaged-view window, renamed that window engage-through attribution, and cut the engaged-view threshold for video ads from 10 seconds to 5. The rollout began that month and is staggered; Meta’s help page now carries the new definitions and notes that some accounts may still be on the old ones. We cover it now because fourth-quarter reports will compare against a 2025 that was measured differently.

Key facts
Platform	Meta Ads
Feature	Engage-through attribution
Announced	Mar 3, 2026
Status	Rolling out
Where available	Rolling out since March 2026 for campaigns optimising for website or in-store conversions. Meta’s help page says some accounts may still use the prior click-through and engage-through definitions while the rollout continues.
Who is affected	Every advertiser reporting website or in-store conversions from Meta Ads Manager, and anyone comparing Meta results with Google Analytics or a third-party attribution tool.
Action needed	Required for reporting. Check which attribution setting your ad sets use, note that conversions previously credited to non-link clicks now sit under engage-through, and annotate reports where comparisons cross the change.
Sources	Meta for Business: Simplifying ad measurement for a social-first world · Meta Business Help Centre: About attribution models and attribution settings · Meta Business Help Centre: About incremental attribution

What changed

Meta Ads Manager credits a conversion to an ad through an attribution setting chosen at the ad set level, under the standard attribution model. Before March, a click-through conversion could follow any click on the ad: a link click, but also a share, a save, a like or a tap that expanded the post. Third-party tools, and Google Analytics in particular, count only link clicks, which is why Meta’s numbers and everyone else’s rarely agreed.

The announcement makes three changes. Click-through attribution for website and in-store conversions now includes only link clicks. Conversions that followed a share, save or other non-link click now fall under the engaged-view window, which Meta renamed engage-through attribution. And the engaged-view threshold for video dropped from 10 seconds to 5, which Meta justified with its own finding that 46% of online purchase conversions with Reels happen within the first 2 seconds of attention. Meta also said it was working with Northbeam and Triple Whale to bring views into their attribution models.

The current help page defines the three standard windows for website and in-store conversions: click-through, events within 1 or 7 days after a link click; view-through, events within 1 day after an impression; and engage-through, events within 1 day after a non-link click action, including any clicks on the ad excluding link clicks and, for video, a play of 5 seconds or 97% of a shorter video. It adds that some accounts may still use prior versions while the feature is rolled out, and that results cannot be compared across ad sets using different attribution models. Separately, Meta offers an incremental attribution model that optimises for conversions its models predict were caused by the ad, and a custom model fed by an external analytics tool.

Rollout started later in March for campaigns optimising for website or in-store conversions, takes effect at different times for different advertisers, and does not change billing.

Why it matters

This is the biggest change to what a Meta conversion means since iOS 14, and most reports absorbed it silently. If your ad sets use the default 7-day click, 1-day view setting, click-through conversions fell on the day the change reached your account, because shares and saves stopped counting as clicks. If you also report engage-through, that column rose by the same conversions. Total attributed conversions may be close to unchanged; the split is not. Any month-on-month comparison that straddles the change will show a drop in click-through CPA efficiency that did not happen.

The video change cuts the other way. A 5-second engaged view is easier to reach than a 10-second one, so engage-through conversions from Reels and video ads rise. Our view: the link-click definition is a genuine improvement, because it finally makes Ads Manager and Google Analytics measure the same event, and we would report click-through as the primary number and engage-through separately rather than adding them together. For year-on-year Q4 reporting, mark the date the change reached each account and compare like for like, or compare total attributed conversions rather than the click column.

What to do

In Ads Manager, open any ad set and check its attribution setting under the performance goal. Note whether it includes engage-through, and whether your client reports use the same windows.
Use the Compare attribution settings option in the reporting columns to see click-through and engage-through side by side for the same ad set; do not sum them with view-through as one “conversions” figure.
Find the week the click column dropped and the engage-through column rose for each account; that is the rollout date for that account. Record it in your reporting notes.
For Q4 comparisons against 2025, compare total attributed conversions or re-pull 2025 periods with the same windows where Ads Manager allows, rather than comparing click-through alone.
If you use Northbeam, Triple Whale or another attribution tool, ask whether their Meta integration now consumes link clicks only and whether views are included.

Still unknown

Meta has not published a per-account rollout schedule or a way to see which definition an account is on beyond the help page’s note that prior versions may persist. The 46% Reels figure is Meta internal data without a stated period. We have not reconciled a before-and-after account ourselves; the week-of-change check above is how we would find the date.

Frequently asked questions

What is engage-through attribution on Meta?

The renamed engaged-view attribution window. Meta’s help page defines it as conversions within 1 day after a non-link click action on your ad, meaning any click except a link click, or a video played for 5 seconds, or for 97% of its length if it is shorter than 5 seconds.

What counts as a click in Meta click-through attribution now?

Only link clicks, for website and in-store conversions, within 1 or 7 days. Meta announced the change on 3 March 2026 so that Ads Manager aligns with tools such as Google Analytics that attribute only to link clicks. Shares, saves, likes and other clicks moved into engage-through attribution.

Did Meta change the engaged view definition for video ads?

Yes. An engaged view was a 10-second play; it is now 5 seconds, or 97% of the video if it is under 5 seconds. Meta cited its own data that 46% of online purchase conversions with Reels happen within the first 2 seconds of attention.

Does the attribution change affect what I am billed?

No. Meta said there is no change to billing. It changes which conversions Ads Manager credits to which window, so reported results and cost per result can move while spend does not.

Official sources

Related coverage

Update history

Oct 14, 2026 — First coverage. Published seven months after the announcement because the rollout is now reflected in Meta’s help page and because Q4 year-on-year comparisons cross the change.

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