Facebook is one of the most popular social media platforms, with over 2.9 billion monthly active users as of 2022. With so many people using Facebook to connect with friends, family, brands, and interests, there are often questions around how Facebook uses the data it collects about its users’ activities. One common question is whether Facebook shows you ads based on pages and posts you view while browsing the platform. The short answer is yes, Facebook does use your viewing and browsing history to determine which ads to show you. However, the full story is a bit more nuanced. In this article, we’ll explore how Facebook’s ad targeting works, what information Facebook collects about your browsing history, how you can control what ads you see, and whether Facebook shows your friends or other users what posts you view.
How Facebook’s Ad Targeting Works
Facebook collects a tremendous amount of data about its users in order to power its advertising model. This includes information you actively provide in your profile, such as age, location, interests, education, and work history. It also includes behavioral data about how you use Facebook – what links you click, what pages and posts you view, how long you spend looking at certain content, what you like, comment on or share, and more. All this data helps Facebook build detailed profiles about its users so that it can show you ads that are most likely to be relevant to your interests and habits.
When you visit Facebook, you’ll notice ads appearing in your News Feed, along the right side of your screen, or within groups you’ve joined. These ads are targeted based on Facebook’s analysis of your profile, browsing history, and activity on Facebook. If you spend time looking at posts from certain Pages or individuals, clicking on related content, or viewing photos and videos about a topic, Facebook will pick up on those interests and aim to show you more ads aligned with those preferences.
What Information Does Facebook Collect About Your Browsing History?
Specifically, here are some of the key signals Facebook uses to understand your interests and target ads:
– Pages you’ve liked or followed
– Posts, videos and other content you’ve clicked on, watched, or interacted with
– Ads you’ve clicked on
– Usage of Facebook features like Marketplace, Jobs, or Events
– What you share or post
– How long you spend looking at certain posts or ads
– Your browsing activity across Facebook’s family of apps and services (Instagram, Messenger, etc), if you use them while logged into your Facebook account
– Websites and apps you visit outside of Facebook, if they use Facebook services like ads, analytics or social plugins. This is known as off-Facebook activity.
All this browsing and usage information helps Facebook learn about your potential interests and habits so it can show you relevant ads.
How You Can Control the Ads You See
If you’re uncomfortable with Facebook using your browsing history and activity for ad targeting, there are some steps you can take to limit this:
– Update your ad preferences: Go to Settings & Privacy > Ad Preferences on Facebook and view your interests. Remove any interests you no longer want used for advertising.
– Limit ad tracking: In Ad Preferences you can turn on “Limit Ad Tracking” which will remove your Facebook activity from being used to target ads. However, you will still see ads based on your profile info.
– Opt out of certain ad partners: Facebook works with many third party data partners to show ads. You can opt out of your data being shared with some partners in Ad Preferences.
– Use Ad Blockers: Browser extensions like AdBlock Plus can block Facebook ads from loading in your News Feed.
– Restrict Facebook’s access to off-Facebook data: In Settings, turn off “Future Off-Facebook Activity” and “Ads based on data from partners.”
– Delete Facebook activity history: This clears out your browsing history and resets Facebook’s understanding of your interests. You can do this in Settings under “Your Facebook Information.”
While these steps can limit ad targeting, they will likely still result in seeing some ads based on your basic profile and on-platform activity. Completely opting out of Facebook’s use of your information for advertising requires deleting your Facebook account.
Does Facebook Show Your Friends What You Look At?
A common concern is that Facebook might share your browsing history or viewed posts with your friends in their feeds. Rest assured this does not happen – Facebook does not show your friends what posts, pages, or content you view while browsing Facebook. The only way your friends would see what you’re looking at is if you actively engage with a post by liking, commenting, sharing, or reacting to it. Those types of explicit engagements with content may show up in your friends’ News Feeds.
However, simply viewing a post or page does not share information to any of your connections on Facebook. Your browsing history remains private and is only used by Facebook to customize your own user experience, including ads.
Key Takeaways
Here are some key facts to remember about how Facebook uses your browsing information:
– Facebook collects data about the posts, pages, videos, and other content you click on or view while browsing. This includes activity across Facebook’s apps if logged in to your account.
– Your browsing history helps Facebook understand your interests so it can show you relevant ads.
– You can limit Facebook’s use of your information for ads through your Ad Preferences settings and other options.
– Facebook does not share your browsing history or posts you view with your friends or other users. Only your explicit interactions with content (likes, shares, comments, etc) are made public.
– Your browsing history remains private and is only used by Facebook to customize your experience and ads.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Facebook read my private messages?
No, Facebook does not read users’ private messages sent through Facebook Messenger. They use automated systems to detect spam, illegal activity, and violations of Facebook’s terms, but beyond that your private messages remain private.
Can Facebook track my location and use it for ads?
If you have location services enabled on your mobile device and permitted Facebook access to your location in the app, then Facebook can use this to target locale-specific ads. You can disable location services for the Facebook app in your device settings.
Does Facebook sell my data to third party advertisers?
Facebook does not directly sell your personal data like name, birthday, or contacts to third party advertisers or marketing companies. However, advertisers can target demographics and interests identified by Facebook to show their ads.
Can I see exactly what data Facebook has collected about me?
Yes, you can download a copy of your Facebook data through the “Download Your Information” tool in Facebook Settings. This will reveal the full range of data Facebook has collected about your profile, posts, likes, shares, interests, and activity.
Is it true Facebook is listening to my conversations through my phone’s microphone?
There is no evidence that Facebook uses phone microphones to listen in on conversations and target ads. Facebook does access your microphone and camera when you give permission within their apps, but otherwise they rely on the user data collected from your online behaviors.
Conclusion
Facebook leverages the treasure trove of data it collects about you, including your browsing history on and off their platform, to power its advertising business model. While Facebook keeps your browsing activity private from other users, the company does analyze what you view and interact with to determine your interests. Being informed about what Facebook tracks, how it uses this information, and the controls available to you gives you more power over your privacy and experience on the platform.