Meta adds native hook rate and hold rate to Ads Manager. Here's what changes.
Meta is adding hook rate and hold rate as built-in metrics in Ads Manager, Performance Marketing World reported in November 2026. The two metrics show whether a video ad stops people scrolling, and whether it keeps them watching.
Media buyers have tracked both numbers for years. Until now, they had to build them by hand as custom metrics. Meta's own help pages never used the terms "hook rate" or "hold rate". They were industry shorthand stacked on top of Meta's 3-second video play and ThruPlay columns.
What the two metrics measure
Hook rate is the share of impressions where someone watched at least the first 3 seconds of your video.
Hook rate = (3-second video plays ÷ Impressions) × 100
Hold rate is the share of those 3-second viewers who kept watching. Most teams use ThruPlays as the numerator: a full play for videos under 15 seconds, or at least 15 seconds of anything longer.
Hold rate = (ThruPlays ÷ 3-second video plays) × 100
Read together, they split a video's performance in two: the opening, and everything after it. We cover each in detail in our hook rate guide and our hold rate guide.
Why native columns matter
The practical gain is consistency. When every team builds its own custom metric, the numbers drift. One agency divides by impressions, another by reach. One uses ThruPlays for hold rate, another uses 100% video plays. Comparing creative across accounts, or even across two people's reports in the same account, becomes guesswork.
A native column fixes the definition. It also lowers the barrier for smaller advertisers who never set up custom metrics and have been judging video ads on CTR and CPM alone.
What we don't know yet
The full report is behind a paywall, and Meta has not published a help-centre definition we could check. Three questions are still open:
- Does Meta's native hold rate use ThruPlays, 15-second plays or completions as the numerator?
- Is the rollout global, or staged by region and account?
- Will the metrics be available in the Marketing API and in placement breakdowns?
We'll update this post when Meta confirms the definitions.
What to do this week
- Check your account. Open Ads Manager, go to Columns, then Customize columns, and search "hook rate". If it isn't there yet, the rollout hasn't reached you.
- Compare old and new. If you already use custom hook and hold metrics, put them next to Meta's native columns for the same ad and date range. If the numbers differ, the definitions differ. Note how before you switch.
- Keep your history. Don't delete your custom metrics straight away. Your past reports and creative benchmarks were built on them.
- Agree on one definition. Tell your team and any agency which version you'll report from now on.
The bigger picture
Hook and hold are attention metrics, not business results. A video can hook 45% of viewers and still sell nothing. Use them to decide which creative to keep testing, and judge the winners on cost per lead, cost per acquisition or ROAS. Our guide to Facebook ad analytics shows where these metrics sit alongside the rest of your Meta reporting.