Google Ads Customer Match gained two new matching keys on September 24, 2026: user IP address and user interaction timestamp. Both fields must be uploaded unhashed, unlike the hashed identifiers the feature has relied on until now, and the customer data template has grown to eight columns to hold them.
The expansion comes with a firm regional limit. Advertisers cannot apply IP or timestamp matching to end users based in the EEA, UK, or Switzerland, which means lists touching those regions still need the older matching keys and updated consent language.
Google also softened how it frames the underlying practice. Several help pages that previously said Customer Match data is “shared” now say it is “collected,” a rewording that lands in the same update as the unhashed requirement.
PPC News Feed reported the change, crediting Hana Kobzová with spotting it. Advertisers with international customer lists should confirm which records fall under the EEA, UK, or Switzerland exclusion before uploading the new eight-column file, since a mismatch could mean incomplete matches rather than a rejected upload.
Per a PPC News Feed report published September 24, 2026.
