Facebook shows users targeted ads based on their interests and what they talk about on the platform. This is done through various methods of data collection and analysis that aim to understand users’ preferences and behaviors. The goal is to show users relevant ads of products or services they may be interested in purchasing.
How Facebook Collects Data on Users
There are several ways Facebook gathers data about its users in order to target ads:
- Information users provide in their profiles – location, age, interests, education, work, relationships etc.
- Pages and accounts users follow or engage with by liking, commenting, sharing etc.
- Metadata from photos and videos users upload
- Locations users tag themselves at
- Facebook pixels on external sites that send data back to Facebook
- Activities on Facebook-owned services like Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger
All this data helps Facebook build detailed profiles of its users and their preferences. The more active a user is on Facebook services, the more data Facebook can collect about them.
How Facebook Analyzes User Data
Once data is collected, Facebook runs extensive analytics on it to understand each user’s interests, habits and personality traits. Some ways Facebook analyzes user data include:
- Cataloging every page or account a user engages with to understand their tastes and interests
- Looking at overall activity patterns to determine users’ daily routines, habits and personalities
- Analyzing photos using image recognition to detect objects, locations and scenes
- Parsing messages and posts using natural language processing to detect mentions of products, brands, hobbies etc.
- Determining demographics like age, gender, location and making inferences about income, education, lifestyle etc.
All this analysis creates detailed interest, behavior and demographic profiles for each user. Facebook may have thousands of data points about frequent users from years of accumulated activity data.
How Facebook Targets Ads Based on User Data
Based on the data profiles created about each user, Facebook can target highly specific ads to them:
- Ads for products or services are matched to interests and preferences in a user’s data profile
- Users are categorized into “lookalike audiences” – groups with common interests and characteristics, to receive similar ads
- Demographics like age and location are used to filter ads to align with a user’s profile
- Activities, routines and habits determine when and how often a user sees an ad
- Ads are continuously optimized through machine learning algorithms based on user engagement
As an example, if a user’s profile determined they have an interest in cooking and a habit of browsing Facebook while making dinner during evenings, they may start seeing ads for new kitchen gadgets at that time of day. The specificity of Facebook’s data collection and analysis enables extremely tailored ads.
Why Facebook Shows Targeted Ads
Facebook has several motivations for showing users highly targeted ads based on their personal data:
- To generate revenue through ad sales – Advertisers pay more to reach specific demographics and interests
- To increase user engagement – Users pay more attention to relevant ads, increasing clicks and conversions
- To improve user experience – Users prefer seeing useful, applicable ads vs generic irrelevant ads
- To maintain competitive edge – Targeted advertising is Facebook’s core value proposition vs other platforms
In summary, the data Facebook collects about users, along with advanced analytics and targeting capabilities, enables advertisers to reach the right people with the right ads at the right time. This increases the value of Facebook’s ad platform and drives more revenue. While some users may find targeted ads invasive or creepy, they sustain Facebook’s business model.
Controlling What Ads You See
Users do have some control over the types of ads Facebook shows them:
- Update ad interests in Ads Preferences settings
- Remove past searches and activities that may be used for ads
- Opt out of targeted ads altogether, although generic ads will still be shown
- Limit ad tracking for apps and websites outside of Facebook
However, many aspects of Facebook’s data collection cannot be controlled. Avoiding certain topics of conversation or self-censorship only minimally limits the inferences Facebook can make from holistic profile analysis. Ultimately, targeted advertising based on extensive data collection is core to Facebook’s platform and business model.
| Data Collection Method | User Control |
|---|---|
| Information in profiles | Can be updated or removed |
| Pages and accounts followed | Can unfollow or unlike |
| Uploaded photos and videos | Can be deleted |
| Locations tagged | Can be untagged |
| External website tracking | Can opt out of off-Facebook tracking |
| Activity on Facebook services | Very limited |
| Holistic profile analysis | No user control |
Conclusion
Facebook shows users targeted ads based on their personal data and activities in order to deliver relevant, valuable ads. Extensive data collection and analysis happens behind the scenes to build interest and behavior profiles for each user. While Facebook does this primarily to boost its ad business and revenue, users do have some limited control over what ads they see through privacy settings. However, targeted advertising is so core to Facebook’s platform that avoiding it altogether is very difficult without severely limiting one’s use of Facebook.