Guard Modes

Overview

Every guard runs in one of three modes. The mode controls whether SpendGuard only watches, or actually changes your ads.

Monitor onlyTracks inventory and logs what would happen, but never touches your ads.

Auto pausePauses ads when stock ≤ your threshold. Sends a notification when resume conditions are met — you resume manually.

Auto pause & resumePauses ads when stock ≤ threshold, resumes when stock ≥ resume threshold. Fully automated.

Monitor only

Use this when you first set up a guard to verify thresholds are correct. Check the Activity feed for "would have paused" entries, then switch to an automation mode when you're confident.

Auto pause

Pauses ads when inventory ≤ the pause threshold. When stock recovers ≥ the resume threshold, SpendGuard sends a notification — you decide when to resume. Good for merchants who want human review before ads go live again.

Auto pause & resume

The recommended mode for most merchants. SpendGuard pauses ads when stock ≤ the pause threshold and resumes them automatically when stock ≥ the resume threshold.

Example: pause at ≤ 5 units, resume at ≥ 15 units. The buffer prevents the guard from flipping ads on and off with every small restock.

Switching modes

Open the guard → Edit → change the mode dropdown. The change applies immediately. Switching to Monitor only stops all automation but keeps logging.

Global disable

Need to pause all guards at once? Use the Global disable toggle in Settings. This stops every guard from taking action until you turn it back on. Individual guard configs are preserved.

Creating Guards Inventory Rules Activity Feed (Audit Log)