While you’re casually scrolling through Facebook, you come across an advertisement for a pair of tennis shoes and you probably wonder, “Why is this showing up on my news feed?” It’s no new feature that Facebook places ads strategically on your news feed, but why you’re seeing these specific ads is kind of ironic. Facebook is now stalking you. These ads are targeted to you through your computer’s browser history and through Facebook, in which audiences are segmented by their information connected with their Facebook page (age, location, education, etc.).
Next time you come across an ad on Facebook, click the downward-facing arrow in the top right corner of the ad where a drop-down box of options will appear. Click on the option, “Why am I seeing this?”, to find out why you were targeted for that specific ad. You even have the option to opt out of particular ads if you want.
As a business or organization that is still figuring out how to market to a particular audience, this feature is a great way to see how other companies are using Facebook to target people. As an individual Facebook user, this is extremely helpful in understanding how Facebook uses your personal information to advertise. You can even go a step further by clicking “Ad Preferences” to manage personal interests in order to influence the type of ads that will appear on your feed. And yes, you can even opt out of ads all together through the Digital Advertising Alliance.
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