About Facebook Ads
How Ads Work on Facebook
A business creates an ad. They choose the type of audience they’d like to reach. If you’re in that audience, Facebook shows you the ad.
When we ask people about our ads, one of the top things they tell us is that they want to see ads that relate to things they care about. We learn about this primarily from your activity on Facebook, such as Pages or posts you like and posts or comments you make. We also learn about your interests from some of the websites and apps you use. We call this online interest-based advertising, and many companies do this.
How does this work?
Let’s say that you’re thinking about buying a new TV, and you start researching TVs on the web and in mobile apps. Based on this activity, we may show you ads for deals on a TV to help you get the best price or other brands to consider. And because we think you’re interested in electronics, we may show you ads for other electronics in the future, like speakers or a game console to go with your new TV.
Facebook adheres to the framework established by the Digital Advertising Alliance, European Interactive Digital Advertising Alliance and Digital Advertising Alliance of Canada, a coalition of organizations that develops privacy standards for online advertising, so if you don’t want us to use the websites and apps you use to show you more relevant ads, we won’t. If you don’t want Facebook to use information based on your activity on websites or apps off Facebook for the purpose of showing you ads, you can opt out in your settings. Learn more about online interest-based advertising from Facebook. You can also opt out from all participating companies through the Digital Advertising Alliance in the USA, the Digital Advertising Alliance of Canada in Canada or the European Interactive Digital Advertising Alliance in Europe, or opt out using your mobile device settings.
How do I manage the ads I see?
People also tell us they want more control over the ads they see. That’s why we have ad preferences, a tool accessible from every ad on Facebook that explains why you’re seeing a specific ad and lets you add and remove preferences that we use to show you ads. So if you’re not interested in electronics, you can remove electronics from your ad preferences.
View and adjust your ad preferences here.
To learn more, visit About Facebook Ads or read our Cookies policy.
To see why we're showing you an ad:
- Click
in the top right corner of the ad.
- Click Why am I seeing this ad?. You'll see different reasons for why you're seeing the ad (example: you visited the advertiser's website).
- If available, click
next to the reason why you're seeing an ad to view more information.
How we decide which ads to show you:
We want the ads you see on Facebook to be as interesting and useful to you as possible. These are examples of things we use to decide which ads to show you:
- Your activity on Facebook (such as liking a Page or clicking on ads you see).
- Other information about you from your Facebook account (example: your age, your gender, your location, the devices you use to access Facebook).
- Information advertisers, their partners, and our marketing partners share with us that they already have, like your email address.
- Your activity on websites and apps off of Facebook. Learn more about how to turn this off in your ad settings.
- We don't share information that personally identifies you (information such as your name or email address that by itself can be used to contact you or identifies who you are) unless you give us permission. To learn more about the information Facebook receives and how we use it, visit our Data Policy and Cookies Policy.
- We use information you provide us, actions you've taken on our platforms and actions you've taken on other websites, apps or in stores that those third-party companies have shared, except for any personal information with special protections that you have added to your profile.
Learn more about how ads work on Facebook.
To adjust what ads you see:
If you're seeing ads that aren't interesting to you, you can:
- Adjust your ad preferences. Visit your ad preferences page, where you can manage things like your interests and your profile information to get a more personalized experience. Learn more about your ad preferences.
- Update your Ads based on data from partners setting. If you don’t want Facebook to use information based on your activity on websites or apps off Facebook for the purpose of showing you ads, you can adjust your settings.
- Hide ads from an advertiser. If you're seeing an advertiser that isn't interesting to you, you can hide an ad or hide an advertiser.
Your Information and Facebook Ads
Your ad preferences are based on information you've shared with Facebook, Pages you like or engage with, ads you click on, apps and websites you use, and information from our data providers and advertisers.
Your profile picture or name may be paired with an ad to show your activity on Facebook (example: if you follow or like the Starbucks Page).
To change who can see your social actions with Facebook ads:
To change who can see your social actions with Facebook ads:
- Visit your Ad Preferences > Ad Settings.
- Click Ads that include your social actions.
- Below Include my social actions with ads for you can select Only my friends or No One.
Keep in mind:
- This setting applies to your likes, follows, comments, shares, app usage, check-ins, recommendations, and events you joined that appear with ads your friends see.
- Your name and profile picture will only appear to the people who have permission to view your Page likes.
- It's against our advertising policies for advertisers to use your name directly in an ad. If you see an ad you think might be using your name in a different way, please report it.
- If you’re under 18, your social actions are not shown alongside ads. Changing who can see your social actions will not have an effect until you’re 18 years old.
Learn more about ads and privacy and how advertising works on Facebook.
This page used to contain a list of the third-party data providers that Facebook worked with to offer their targeting segments directly on Facebook, and a description of that program. After we last updated our Data Policy (in April 2018), we terminated this program. Facebook no longer works with third-party data providers to offer their targeting segments directly on Facebook.
Businesses may continue, on their own, to work with data providers. Many businesses today work with third parties to help manage and understand their marketing efforts. For example, an auto dealer may want to customize an offer to people who are likely to be interested in buying a new car. The dealer also might want to send offers, like discounts for service, to customers that have purchased a car from them. To do this, the auto dealer works with a third-party company to identify and reach those customers with the right offer.
So businesses who advertise to you may be using a list of people that they've gotten, or gotten the ability to use, from third parties that they work with for their marketing efforts. Businesses that advertise on Facebook are required to have any necessary rights and permissions to use this information, as outlined in our Custom Audience Terms that businesses must agree to.
You can learn more about what influences the ads you see and control your ads experience by visiting Ad Preferences.
Control the Ads You See
See more interesting and useful ads on Facebook by updating your ad preferences to reflect the things you care about. Managing your ad preferences is only possible in some areas right now.
To show you more relevant ads, we recieve and use data that advertisers and other partners provide to us about your activity on their websites and apps, as well as some of your offline interactions, such as purchases. For example, we may show you an ad for a shirt based on your visit to a clothing website.
You can control whether you see ads based on your activity off of Facebook, through Data About Your Activity From Partners in your Ad Preferences.
To view and adjust this setting:
- Click
in the top right of Facebook.
- Select Settings & Privacy, then click Settings.
- Scroll down and click Ads in the left sidebar.
- Click Data about your activity from partners.
- Select whether we can use data from our partners to show you ads.
Keep in mind, this setting controls whether we can show you personalized ads on Facebook based on data about your activity from our partners. If you turn off this setting, the ads you see may still be based on your activity on Facebook. They may also be based on information from a specific business that has shared a list of individuals or devices with us, if we've matched your profile to information on that list.
This setting only applies to ads you see across your Facebook account, including on Messenger, and to ads you see on websites, apps and devices that are delivered by Facebook's advertising services. This setting does not apply to ads you see on Instagram, unless you’ve enabled connected experiences across your Instagram and Facebook accounts. Learn how to adjust how ads are shown to you on Instagram.
If you've enabled connected experiences across your Instagram and Facebook accounts, you can also adjust your Instagram ad experience through the Data About Your Activity From Partners setting.
We adhere to the Self-Regulatory Principles for Online Behavioral Advertising and participate in the opt-out programs established by the Digital Advertising Alliance, the Digital Advertising Alliance of Canada and the European Interactive Digital Advertising Alliance. You can opt out from all participating companies through these sites.
Learn more about your ad preferences on Facebook.
Keep in mind that there is no way to hide all ads. Learn more about how Facebook decides which ads to show you and how to give feedback on the ads you see.
Your Ad Preferences page lets you adjust the ads you see while on Facebook and gives you the ability to update your Ad Settings to control information we can use to show you ads.
To view and adjust your ad preferences:
- Click
- Select Settings & Privacy, then click Settings.
- Click Ads in the left sidebar.
From here, you can view the advertisers you’ve most recently seen ads from, and you can choose to see fewer ads about selected topics. You can also review your Ad Settings and choose whether we can show you personalized ads based on data about your activity from partners.
Please note, changing your ad preferences influences which ads you see, but it won’t change the total number of ads you see.
Advertisers
The Advertisers section of Ad Preferences lets you see the advertisers we’ve shown you ads from most recently, as well as advertisers whose ads you’ve clicked on while on Facebook.
These are advertisers we think will be most interesting and relevant to you based on your activity on and off Facebook. You can choose to hide ads from these advertisers and view which advertisers you’ve already hidden.
To hide ads from an advertiser:
- Visit your Ad Preferences page, then click Advertisers.
- Below Advertisers You’ve Seen Most Recently, you’ll see a list of advertisers. Click Hide Ads for any advertisers you’d like to not see ads from.
Learn more about why you see ads from certain advertisers.
Ad Topics
Ad Topics is a list of topics you can choose to see fewer of while on Facebook. These include alcohol, parenting, pets and social issues, elections or politics. Please note, the social issues, elections or politics topic preference is not available in every country.
To adjust your Ad Topic preferences:
- Visit your Ad Preferences page, then click Ad Topics.
- Below Manage Ad Topics, you’ll see a list of topics, including Alcohol, Parenting, Pets and Social Issues, Elections or Politics.
- Click See Fewer for the ad topic you'd like to see fewer ads about.
Keep in mind:
- Your ad topic preference selections on Facebook are not applied to your experience on Instagram. Learn how to update your ad topic preferences for the ads you see on Instagram.
- You may still see some ads related to these topics even if you chose to see fewer of them. If you do see an ad related to a topic that you chose to see fewer of, you can hide the ad, and we’ll use your feedback to improve the relevance of the ads you see.
Please note, all advertisers are subject to our ad policies. Alcohol is a restricted category under Facebook's Ad Policies, regardless of whether you choose to see fewer of these ads. Ads that promote or reference alcohol must comply with all applicable local laws, required or established industry codes, guidelines, licenses and approvals, and include age and country targeting criteria consistent with Facebook's targeting guidelines and applicable local laws.
Ad Settings
Your Ad Preferences page also let you see how we’re using data to show ads we think will be most interesting for you and let you adjust how this data can be used to show you ads. Under Ad Settings, you can:
- View common questions about how data is used to show you ads on Facebook.
- Choose whether or not we can show you personalized ads based on your activity on other websites, apps or offline.
- Review what information advertisers can use to reach you, such as certain Facebook Profile information and interest categories, and choose whether this information can be used to show you ads.
- View advertisers that can choose to show their ads to certain audiences you have been included in based on your activity or information and decide whether these audiences can be used to show you ads.
- Choose how advertisers can reach you off of Facebook Company Products.
- Adjust who can see your social interactions alongside ads on Facebook.
Learn more about how Facebook decides which ads to show you.
There are a few ways to give us feedback about the ads you see on Facebook. Giving us feedback will impact which ads we show you in the future. To give us feedback:
- Tell us more about what you like. Liking Pages and adding things you like to your profile (example: movies, bands, sports teams) will help us show you more relevant ads.
- Hide ads you don’t like.
- Adjust your ad preferences. To learn about the information Facebook is using to show you ads and choose which preferences influence the ads you see, adjust your ad preferences.
- Update your Ads based on data from partners ad settings in your ad preferences. If you don’t want Facebook to collect information based on your activity on websites or apps off Facebook for the purpose of showing you ads, you can opt out from your settings. Learn more about how to adjust how ads are targeted to you based on your activity on and off Facebook. You can also opt out from all participating companies through the Digital Advertising Alliance in the USA, the Digital Advertising Alliance of Canada in Canada, or the European Interactive Digital Advertising Alliance in Europe, or opt out using your mobile device settings.
- Report an ad. When you report an ad, it is subjected to our ad review system. That process relies on automated tools, and in some cases manual review, to check ads against our Advertising Policies. When we detect a violation of our policies, we will remove the ad. We continuously review ads on our platform based on many signals, including user feedback, to improve the integrity and relevance of advertising on Facebook.
