How authentication works
Every platform connection is a standard OAuth grant between you and that platform. You approve it on the platform's own screen, and MCP Ads receives a scoped token rather than your password.
- You never type a platform password into MCP Ads or into a chat window
- Tokens are stored encrypted and used only for calls you trigger
- Each connection is revocable independently, from the dashboard or from the platform
- The MCP endpoint is authenticated: an unauthenticated request is rejected, not answered
There is no API key and no client secret to paste into a config file. If any guide tells you to add a secret for MCP Ads, it is out of date.
What is stored, and what is not
| Stored | Not stored | |
|---|---|---|
| Credentials | Encrypted OAuth tokens for the platforms you connect | Platform passwords — MCP Ads never sees them |
| Campaign data | Nothing. Tool calls read live from the platform API at the moment you ask | No standing copy of your campaigns or performance history |
| Account settings | Which accounts are connected, and your own account details | No background sync of your ad accounts |
What the AI client can reach
The client can call the tools your connections expose, and nothing else. It has no filesystem access through this server, no access to accounts you did not authorise, and no ability to widen its own permissions.
- Read tools return live data; they change nothing
- Write tools are a smaller, explicit set, and destructive operations are not exposed at all
- Tool results enter the conversation, so treat them as you would anything else you share with that model
If something looks wrong
Revoking is the fastest, most complete action available to you, and it takes effect immediately.
- Revoke the connection
From the MCP Ads dashboard, or from the platform's own third-party access settings. Either invalidates the token.
- Check the platform's change history
Google Ads and Meta both keep their own change logs, independent of MCP Ads, showing exactly what changed and when.
- Reconnect when ready
Reconnecting is the same OAuth flow as the first time.