Ad Data Hash Checker: SHA-256 Hash Email and Phone Values

How to SHA-256 hash an email (and check one)

To SHA-256 hash an email for advertising, the value has to be normalized first, and Google and Meta don't normalize in exactly the same way. This checker shows both side by side, following Google's Customer Match hashing guide and Meta's customer information parameters. Add a column of hashes and it tells you which ones are wrong, and why.

1. Paste or load values. Paste a few emails or phone numbers, one per line, or load a file. Try the sample to see every common mistake at once.
2. Add your hashes (optional). Put your hash after a comma on each pasted line, or map the hashed column of your file.
3. Say what the values are. Emails, phones and US ZIP codes are detected. Names, cities and countries need the type setting or a type column.
4. Compare Google and Meta. The first values are shown side by side: the normalized text and the hash for each platform.
5. Read "What went wrong". For hashes that match neither platform, the tool rebuilds common mistakes and names the one that fits. Download the results as CSV.

Google vs Meta: what happens before hashing

What to do with the results

1. Find where hashing happens. It is usually a CRM export setting, a connector, a script your developer wrote, or a spreadsheet formula. The "What went wrong" column tells you which step is missing.
2. Normalize before the hash, not after. Add trimming, lowercasing and the country code before the hashing step. A hash can't be cleaned afterwards.
3. Hash per platform. Gmail addresses and phone numbers need a different hash for Google than for Meta. Keep two outputs, or upload plain text and let each platform hash it.
4. Re-upload the list. In Google Ads, open the list in Audience manager and replace the data. In Meta, edit the custom audience and replace the customers. Then compare the new list size or match score.

Common hashing mistakes

Hashing before trimming and lowercasing

One trailing space or one capital letter changes the whole hash. Google says such files upload without an error, so the problem stays hidden.

Gmail dots left in for Google

Gmail ignores dots, so [email protected] and [email protected] are the same inbox. Google asks you to remove the dots before hashing. Meta's rules only ask for trimming and lowercasing, so when you hash email for Facebook ads and Google from one list, the same address needs two hashes. Dots removed but a +tag kept follows Google Ads Help and counts as a Google match.

Phone hashed without the country code, or in the wrong form

A local number like 650-555-1212 can belong to many countries, so it matches nobody. With the country code, Google wants the plus sign in the hashed text and Meta wants digits only.

MD5, SHA-1 or base64 instead of hex SHA-256

Meta's Marketing API says it supports SHA-256 only. MD5 hashes have 32 characters, SHA-1 hashes 40. A 44-character string ending in "=" is base64, which Google accepts only through its Data Manager API.

Hashed twice, in capitals, or with a line break

Hashing a hash, hashing in capital letters, or including the invisible line break at the end of a line (\n, or \r\n from Windows) all give valid-looking hashes that never match. The checker tests for each one, and for national phone numbers.

Country and zip hashed for Google

Google wants Country and Zip in plain text even in a hashed Customer Match file. Meta, on the other hand, hashes them. Follow each platform's own rule.