Google is communicating that starting April 1st, Customer Match uploads through the Google Ads API will stop working for certain users, in a message sent to API developers.
Specifically, developers who haven’t uploaded Customer Match data in the past 180 days using their developer token will no longer be able to do so via the Ads API.
What’s changing. If you fall into that inactive bucket, any attempt to upload Customer Match lists through the Google Ads API after April 1 will fail. Instead, Google wants you to move those workflows to the Data Manager API. The change applies only to Customer Match uploads — all other campaign management and reporting tasks should continue as normal in the Google Ads API.
Why Google says it’s doing this. Google positions the Data Manager API as a more modern, unified data ingestion solution across its platforms, with stronger security protocols. It also includes features not available in the Ads API, such as confidential matching and enhanced encryption — signaling a push to centralize and better secure audience data handling.
Why we care. If you or your developers haven’t touched Customer Match uploads in the last six months, this could catch you off guard. After April 1, 2026, the old workflow simply won’t work — and errors will replace uploads.
The takeaway. Check whether your developer token has been used for Customer Match recently and plan a migration to the Data Manager API now, before Google flips the switch.
First spotted. This announcement was shared by Paid Search specialist Arpan Banerjee who shared the message he got from Google on LinkedIn.
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