How to Delete an Ad on Instagram

Accidentally published an Instagram ad with a typo, an expired coupon code, or the wrong visual? It happens. The good news is that removing an ad from circulation is simple. This guide will walk you through exactly how to delete an Instagram ad, both through the app for boosted posts and within Meta Ads Manager for more complex campaigns. We'll also cover the important distinction between deleting and pausing an ad so you can make the right choice for your strategy and preserve your valuable performance data.

To Delete or To Pause? Understanding the Difference

Before you hit that delete button, it’s important to understand what you're actually doing. In the world of Instagram advertising, you have three primary options for a live ad: pause it, edit it, or delete it. Each action has very different consequences.

Pausing an Ad

Pausing an ad - or turning it "off" in Ads Manager - is a temporary action. The ad stops running and accruing spending, but it remains in your account. All of its history, performance data (like reach, clicks, and conversions), and social proof (likes, comments, shares) are preserved.

When to pause an ad:

• Underperformance: The ad isn't hitting its key performance indicators (KPIs), but you want to analyze the data later to understand why.
• Budget Adjustments: You need to reallocate your budget to a better-performing campaign temporarily but may want to turn this one back on later.
• A/B Testing: You're running multiple ad variations and want to turn off the lower-performing ones while keeping the data for comparison.
• Strategy Shift: Your marketing focus has temporarily changed, but the ad might be relevant again in a future campaign.

In short: 99% of the time, pausing is the better choice. It gives you flexibility and protects your data history, which is fundamental to becoming a better marketer.

Editing an Ad

Editing a live ad on Instagram is very limited. Once an ad is approved and running, Meta restricts what you can change to maintain the integrity of the initial ad review. You might be able to make minor edits to things like the ad name, UTM parameters, or budget, but you generally cannot change the core creative elements like the image, video, caption, or headline. To change the creative, you would need to duplicate the ad, make your changes, and submit the new version for review.

Deleting an Ad

Deleting an ad is a permanent, irreversible action. Once an ad is deleted, it is gone from your Ads Manager for good. You will lose all associated performance metrics and social proof tied directly to that ad creative. It effectively erases it from your advertising history.

When you should actually delete an ad:

• Major Errors: The ad contains a significant mistake, like a glaring typo, an incorrect price, a broken link, or a non-functional promo code.
• Wrong Creative: You uploaded the completely wrong image or video and it needs to be removed immediately.
• Compliance Issues: The ad was approved but violates a brand guideline or contains sensitive information that was published by accident.
• A Total Mistake: You created and launched the ad by mistake and it serves no purpose.

The rule of thumb is simple: only delete an ad if it's broken or was a mistake. For everything else, from performance management to budget shifts, pausing is the far superior strategic option.

How to Delete a Boosted Post from the Instagram App

If you used the "Boost Post" button directly on an Instagram post, you can manage and delete the promotion right from the app. This method is quick and easy for simple ads.

Here are the step-by-step instructions:

1. Open Instagram and Go to Your Profile: Launch the Instagram app on your phone and navigate to your main profile page.
2. Access Your Ad Tools: Tap on the "Ad Tools" button, which is usually located below your bio and follower count.
3. Find the Ad to Delete: You will see a list of your promotions. Find the specific boosted post you want to remove and tap "View Insights."
4. Locate the Delete Option: Scroll to the bottom of the insights page. You will see a "Delete Ad" button. The user interface can sometimes change, so you might also find it by tapping a settings icon (like a gear or three dots) on the ad management screen.
5. Confirm the Deletion: Instagram will show a confirmation pop-up to make sure you want to permanently delete the promotion. Tap "Delete Ad" again to confirm. Your ad will immediately stop running, and the spend will cease.

Important Note: Deleting a "boost" from an existing post *does not* delete the organic post from your profile. It only removes the paid promotion that was driving it. All the organic engagement it received will remain, but the paid engagement will be gone.

How to Delete an Ad Using Meta Ads Manager

For ads created within the more powerful Meta Ads Manager (the standard for most businesses), you'll need to use its desktop interface to delete an ad. This gives you granular control over entire campaigns, ad sets, and individual ad creatives.

Here’s the professional way to do it:

1. Go to Meta Ads Manager: Open your web browser and navigate to adsmanager.facebook.com. Log in to the Facebook account associated with your ad account.
2. Select the Correct Ad Account: If you manage multiple ad accounts, use the dropdown menu in the top left to make sure you're in the right one.
3. Navigate to the Ad Level: Ads Manager is structured in three levels: Campaigns, Ad Sets, and Ads. You can delete items at any level, but to delete a single ad, you need to drill down.
   • Start by clicking on the Campaigns tab. Find the campaign that contains the ad you want to delete.
   • Click on the name of the campaign. This will take you to the Ad Sets within that campaign.
   • Click on the name of the correct ad set. This will show you all the individual Ads running within that ad set.
4. Select and Delete the Ad: You'll now see a list of your individual ads. Check the box next to the ad (or ads) you wish to delete. A toolbar will appear above the list.
5. Click the Trash Can Icon: On the toolbar, click the trash can icon labeled "Delete."
6. Confirm Your Choice: A pop-up window will ask you to confirm that you want to permanently delete the ad. Click the "Delete" button to finalize the action.

Just like that, your ad is permanently removed from Ads Manager and will no longer be delivered to users.

A Smarter Alternative: Just Turn It Off

As mentioned earlier, unless the ad contains a critical error, you’re usually better off just turning it off. This preserves your data for future learning.

In Ads Manager, this is incredibly simple. Instead of selecting the ad and hitting the delete icon, just find the blue toggle switch next to its name. In its "On" state, it looks like this: (On / ●,). In its "Off" state, it will be gray: (Off / ○,).

Just click that toggle. The ad is now paused. It stops spending money, but you lose none of the data. You can do this at the Campaign, Ad Set, or Ad level, giving you total control to pause individual creatives, entire targeting groups, or whole campaigns with a single click.

What Happens After You Delete an Instagram Ad?

Understanding the consequences helps solidify why pausing is often the wiser choice.

• Billing Stops: The moment you delete (or pause) an ad, Meta stops serving it, and your budget for that ad stops running. You will still be billed for any impressions or clicks that occurred before you deleted it.
• Permanent Deletion: The ad is removed from your account forever. There is no "recycle bin" or "undo" button. If you change your mind, you'll have to recreate it from scratch.
• Data Loss: The performance metrics for that specific ad - reach, impressions, CTR, CPC, conversion data - are wiped clean from your reporting dashboards. This can create knowledge gaps when you’re trying to analyze campaign performance and improve your strategy over time.
• Social Proof Is Erased: This is a big one. Any likes, comments, replies, and shares that your ad accumulated are gone forever. If you were boosting an existing post and accumulated great social proof, this can be a significant loss, as that engagement can lower your ad costs and increase trust. (This is another reason why boosting an existing post and then just pausing the boost protects the organic asset).

Final Thoughts

Deleting an Instagram ad is a straightforward process, whether you're working from the mobile app for a quick boost or inside the comprehensive Meta Ads Manager. The decision isn't just about how to remove it, but if you should. Ask yourself if the ad has a critical, unfixable error. If not, pausing it by turning it off is almost always the smarter, more strategic move that protects your hard-earned data and social proof.

Running a successful social media presence means juggling content creation, scheduling, engagement, and running campaigns - all at once. Having reliable tools that simplify your workflow can help prevent the kinds of mistakes that lead to deleted ads in the first place. With our visual calendar, we make it easy to see all your content and ad campaigns in one place before they go live. This helps you spot gaps, plan cohesive strategies, and catch any errors ahead of time, ensuring what you schedule is exactly what you intend to publish. Check out Postbase to see how we’re making social media management feel less chaotic.