# Segments Freshpaint enables you to segment your customer data into new audiences and activate them across ad platforms, including Meta, Google Ads, and others, while maintaining full industry compliance. This guide walks through how to: 1. Set up integrations 2. Create and review your segment 3. Sync it to your destination platform ### 1. Set Up Your Integration Before creating or importing an audience, you’ll need to make sure your Ad Platform Audience integrations are connected. [**Go to Audience Integration Setup →**](https://documentation.freshpaint.io/audiences/audience-integrations) This step applies to **all** audience Integrations, including Meta, Google Ads, Viant, StackAdapt and more. ### 2. Create a Segment 1. Go to `Audiences > Segments` in Freshpaint. Click `Create a Segment`.
2. Select integrations. This is where the audience will sync (e.g., Meta, Google)
3. Define the new Segment’s criteria. Options for segmenting include: * Operators: can be grouped and combined to create complex matching expressions. * `did` : if a user triggered an event * `did not` : if a user did not trigger an event * `number` : to count the number of times a user triggered an event * Event name * Time constraints * `within the last`: if a user triggered an event within the last X days * `ever` : if a user has ever triggered an event
4. Name your Segment.\ Add a **Name**, **Description** and optional **Labels** for internal clarity {% hint style="info" %} **This data stays within Freshpaint** Name, Descriptions, and Labels are not shared outside of Freshpaint to integrated Ad platforms. {% endhint %}
5. Review and set your Ad Platform Alias. The Alias name is the name sent to the ad platform, we provide a default random name. You are more than welcome to change it when creating a new Audience. {% hint style="warning" %} **Alias names should not include health context and cannot be changed.** The Alias field is the field shared with the Ad Platform, and leaves Freshpaint. It’s important to maintain separation between an audience and the health context. {% endhint %} 6. Finish import by clicking **Create Audience** — you’ll see your Segment's finalized details and will now see your Segment listed in the Segments table.
### 3. Send to Ad Platform Once your audience is ready: 1. Go to the **Segments** page 2. Click **Send Audience** next to the integration
3. Review audience details (especially the ad platform alias)
4. Click **Send**
✅ That’s it! Your audience has been queued for delivery.
5. Once the audience is processed by the ad platform, you will be able to view it in the ad platform’s UI. See below for more about processing times. ### Processing Time & Monitoring * Most audiences sync to platforms **quickly**, but external platforms (like Meta or Google Ads) may take **24–48 hours** to fully process and activate your audience. * Plan campaign launches **after** confirming audience availability in your destination platform. * You can **refresh** the audience's page in Freshpaint to monitor sync status. * If the external platform reports an error when processing the audience, view the audience in the platform's dashboard to learn more. ### Best Practices & Reminders **Avoid health context in the alias name** The **alias** is the *only* name sent to the ad platform. Never include PHI or any health-related terms (e.g., "diabetes", "cancer", "patients") in the alias, as this could violate platform policies and HIPAA compliance. [Learn more](https://documentation.freshpaint.io/audiences/protecting-health-context). **Exclude your original audience when creating lookalikes** To avoid overlap and ensure your lookalike campaign reaches net-new users, always **exclude the seed audience** from the campaign targeting. **Name, description, and labels stay in Freshpaint** You can use health context for clarity inside Freshpaint (e.g., labels or internal names), as these never leave the platform. 💡 **Need help?** If you're unsure how to format your CSV or how to structure your campaign safely, reach out to our team at .