Facebook Introducing Ad Preferences and Collecting More Browsing and App Data

Facebook recently made an announcement stating that it will be adding a new "Ad Preferences" feature that will make it possible for users to control what types of ads they're shown within their account interface.

In addition to these new preferences, Facebook will also be collecting more user data to improve the accuracy of their ad targeting. The social networking giant will soon start utilizing browser and app usage data to determine which ads should be displayed to each user.

So How Will the Ad Preferences Work?

Each time a user sees an advertisement in their Facebook account a notification will appear to the right of the ad indicating which one of their interests, likes, or activities caused the ad to be displayed. 

To access the ad preferences and learn more about ad targeting, users will be able to click on one of the options in the drop down menu at the top right corner of the ad (see the photo at the top of this article).

The user could be then adjust their ad preferences to choose which interests they would or would not like to see ads related to. For example, if you see an ad about Netflix because you recently liked Netflix on Facebook, but you already have a membership, then you could keep similar ads from being displayed in the future by disabling ads related to that particular like or interest.

Alternatively, users will be able to access the Ad Preferences tab within their account settings to fine-tune the types of ads they see when using Facebook.

More User Data Being Collected, Easy to Opt Out Though

Facebook is also going to start using browser history and app usage to determine which ads are most suitable for each user.

For example, if you've been searching for car loans online then you might see an ad for auto financing when you log into your Facebook. Likewise, if you've been searching for a specific brand of clothing in the eBay or Amazon apps, this information could also be used to display more relevant ads in your FB account.

This type of interest-based advertising is already used by many websites and marketing companies, so it is actually somewhat surprising that Facebook is just now starting to use cookies and app activity in its ad targeting efforts.

Fortunately, anyone can easily disable web-and-app-based ad tracking within their browser by visiting the industry standard opt-out page from the Digital Advertising Alliance, or by changing the appropriate settings within their iOS or Android device.

When Will the New Features Be Introduced?

Facebook users in the US will be able to start using Ad Preferences within the next couple weeks - sometime between late June and early July. However, it will take at least a couple months after that before the feature can be rolled out globally.

As usual, Facebook is most likely using the highly integrated US market as a testing ground before applying the changes to all international accounts.