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Facebook privacy has been in the news recently and we now have a way to check whether our information was shared with Cambridge Analytica. We also have a way to disconnect from third-party apps on Facebook that have access to your information and download the information Facebook has about us.
But we may wonder: what information about us is Facebook sharing with advertisers?
Facebook uses targeted advertising to make money, as in $40 billion last year, according to Recode. And targeted ads work best when Facebook knows a lot of information about its users.
Targeted ads aren’t all bad. In fact, if you’ve ever been bothered by an ad that has nothing to do with you, then you might appreciate ads that are related to your interests. “Ads for baby diapers? I don’t even have kids!”
But you also might value you privacy more than you value ads that are targeted towards your interests.
Either way, you should take a few minutes to find out what information about you Facebook is sharing with advertisers.
Then you can change it…
Facebook Policy on Sharing User Information with Advertisers
Facebook collects information on you based on your shares, Likes, posts, friends, and more. The Facebook Data Policy sets forth what information is collected and how it is used. The policy states that Facebook uses “all of the information we have about you to show you relevant ads.”
But what information does Facebook share with its advertisers? According to Facebook, “We do not share information that personally identifies you (personally identifiable information is information like name or email address that can by itself be used to contact you or identifies who you are) with advertising, measurement or analytics partners unless you give us permission.”
Facebook does share “non-personally identifiable information” about you with advertisers, such as age, general location, interests, and gender. Facebook gives the example of information it shares with advertisers as a “25 year old female, in Madrid, who likes software engineering.”
How to See Which Information Facebook Is Sharing About You With Advertisers
If you use Facebook, you should see which information the company is sharing about you with advertisers. Some of this information may be correct, some may not be.
To see which information Facebook is sharing with advertisers, go to your Ad Preferences page, then click Your Information.
A window will open where you’ll see tabs for About You and Your Categories.
About You
Under the About You tab, you can see basic information about yourself from your Facebook profile. You may see your marital status, job, employer, and more.
Your Categories
Under Your Categories, you’ll see general information about yourself, based on what Facebook knows about you. The information may include information such as whether you’re a parent, the age ranges of your children, your political views, your interests, how you access Facebook, your cultural affinity, and more.
Hover your cursor over each category to see more information about that category.
According to Facebook, “the categories in this section help advertisers reach people who are most likely to be interested in their products, services, and causes. We’ve added you to these categories based on information you’ve provided on Facebook and other activity.”
Don’t miss => How To Find Out What Google Knows About You
How to Change the Information about You Facebook Is Sharing with Advertisers
You can change the information about you that Facebook is sharing with advertisers. Maybe the information is not correct, or maybe you don’t want Facebook to target ads based on information about you. Or maybe you want to keep information about you away from Facebook advertisers.
Blocking Your Information
You can block Facebook from using your information for targeted ads.
On the right side of the About You window are sliders for you to turn on or off. If you leave the sliders on, then you are allowing Facebook to use this information to determine which targeted ads to show you. If you turn them off, then the information will still be available in your Facebook profile, but won’t be used for targeted ads, according to Facebook.
Changing Your Categories
You can also delete categories in the Your Categories section of Facebook. If you don’t want to see parenting ads, for example, you could delete the Parents category.
Just click on the X in the upper right corner of the category to delete it.
You can delete incorrect categories, to make targeted ads more relevant to you.
Or you can delete correct categories, leaving the incorrect ones, if you want to confuse advertisers and Facebook.
Or you can delete all categories to avoid having Facebook share your information with advertisers.
Also see, Business Insider Facebook users are mad as hell over the Cambridge Analytica scandal
Your Thoughts
How do you feel about Facebook sharing your personal information and interests with advertisers? Do you like to see ads that are targeted or do you prefer general advertising? Have you reviewed what information about you Facebook is sharing with advertisers?
Share your thoughts in the Comments section below!
*Facebook image courtesy of Book Catalog via Flickr and Creative Commons
thanks for this info. this is really a nice insight about facebook ads and our info.
Hi Ben, I’m glad you found this article helpful. Yes, seeing what Facebook was sharing about me was fascinating. Much of it was incorrect and I have to wonder why it had that information.
The good news is that we can control whether we keep incorrect information or delete it. I hope all Facebook users take the time to check out this information.
Hello
Carolyn,
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Thanks for sharing with us.
Best wishes,
Praveen verma
Hi Praveen, I’m so very glad you found this article to be helpful for you. Yes, Facebook is sharing our information with advertisers and we should know what information is being shared. We also should know whether the information being shared is correct or not. We can control what information is being shared so we may want to keep or delete incorrect information.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us, Praveen.