The thread through all five is a default that moves a decision from the advertiser to the platform. Each post says who it hurts most, usually small budgets and lead-generation accounts, and what to lock down in the account now.
Meta told advertisers it is removing the ability to choose where your ads appear and where they don't. Until now you could say "don't show me here." Soon the automated system decides on its own. There is no date yet, but the notices are already going out. And this is not one small change, it is another example of a bigger trend: our control as advertisers keeps shrinking, and the AI takes it over.
Until now, Meta's Website Highlights showed a preview of your landing page inside the ad. Now it also adds links to other pages on your site, called Discovery Links. Some of your visitors will land on those pages instead of the campaign's target page. It is on by default, hidden collapsed on the first screen, and you have to check that every link is relevant.
The Website summaries extension can be on by default. It writes a summary from your site and shows it under the ad, and tapping See details opens a page Meta builds inside Facebook. The problem: the prominent button on that page can lead to the homepage instead of the landing page, so someone who tapped an ad for a specific product lands on a generic page. What the feature does, who it hurts and where to turn it off.
A quiet change in the Facebook and Instagram in-app browser: tap an ad, and the browser jumps straight to the form and offers to fill it from your profile. Leads come in faster, and in many cases they're worse. And advertisers have no off switch.
Another aggressive Meta Ads default: duplicate an ad with no catalog and the copy comes back with one attached. Didn't check? You may be promoting products you never chose.