Facebook has been taking a number of steps towards improving the ad experience on its platform, a somewhat natural move given how scrutinized the company has been in recent months. According to a report from TechCrunch, the social network is preparing to roll out a new feature at the end of February which will give users more information about how they're being targeted by ads.
Initially announced in a private post on the Facebook Advertiser Hub page, the social network is adding a little more detail to the "Why am I seeing this?" link that shows next to ads on the News Feed, starting on February 28. Up until now, the page only provided information about who was targeting you, as well as some details, such as age and region, that determined the choice to show that ad for you.
Now, the company will add an array of details regarding how your data was used to target you. For starters, you'll be able to see when and why your data was used for that specific ad. You'll be able to see which agency uploaded your data, and if they did it for their own ads or if they're providing data to another advertiser. You'll also be able to see when this data was shared from one company to the other, with a list of events tracking down how your data was handled and turned into an ad.
Facebook says the goal is to help users understand how their data is used, and the added transparency could help users better protect themselves from unwanted ads. This might also make it easier to track down companies that upload contact without legitimate access to it.
Source: TechCrunch
15 Comments - Add comment