Facebook updates its ‘Why am I seeing this ad’ tool: Here’s how it works

• Facebook has updated its “Why am I seeing this ad?” tool.
  
• This update will help users understand how machine learning is used to show ads.
  
• Read further to know more about the update and its benefits.
  

Facebook has updated its “Why am I seeing this ad?” tool to give users a better understanding of how the platform uses data and technology to show them ads.

Helping users learn how the machine learning models contribute to the ads people see on the platform will increase transparency.

"Being transparent about how we use machine learning is essential because it ensures that people are aware that this technology is a part of our ads system and that they know the types of information it is using,” Meta said.

Here’s how the tool works
Meta uses machine learning to curate information and understand your activity both on and off the platform and then display ads related to similar topics.
For example, based on how and which posts you like on the platform or on different websites, Facebook shapes ads accordingly.

'On' Facebook activity
Facebook can use these things to put your profile in a certain category and show ads related to it:

• Pages on Facebook you've liked.
• Information from your Facebook and Instagram profile.
• Ads you've clicked on.
• The content of posts that you've made or interacted with across Facebook and Instagram.
• Places you've checked into using Facebook.

'Off' Facebook activity
Advertisers can add Facebook business tools to different websites or applications that allow them to curate information, know your interactions/purchases and help show ads that suit your interest.
Note: Users can always change and manage their ad preferences.

Here's where we can know more about the tool and what it includes:

• Whenever you see an ad on your Facebook click on the three dots from the upper-right-hand corner of the ad.
• Choose the' why am I seeing this ad' option.
• Here you can see why this ad was shown to you and what other things influence your ads.

You can make changes to your ad preferences and personalize your ads. Also, you can hide ads from a specific advertiser as well.
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