Facebook got its share of backlash last year when it introduced its interest-based advertising, which primarily relies on user data and usage of apps and other websites. And while the social network does not plan to do away with the targeted ads, Facebook is now providing users with another option to filter them.
Interest-based ads pops up in relevance to websites visited outside of Facebook and the apps used within it. For instance, after a user checks out a hotel online, ads pertaining to tourist spots and the best travel deals may pop up.
Most people, however, do not appreciate how the company snoops around and monitors what they do. The same can be said for the way Google and Microsoft collect and handle user data.
Nevertheless, no one should expect Facebook to drop its main source of revenue. In 2013, prior to the company's official disclosure of Internet-based advertising, it generated $7.3 billion in revenue — the majority of which came from ads. More recently, Facebook made $3.8 billion during the second quarter of 2015 alone — primarily due to the increase in business entities advertising on the platform, as well as the growing number of registered users.
Along with the disclosure, Facebook offered options for users to turn off some of the ads. The Digital Advertising Alliance AdChoices program, which allows ads from listed sources to be blocked, is a good example of this. Further control over the ads is provided to mobile users running on iOS and Android-based devices.
Building on the currently available options, Facebook announced an additional solution on September 16.
The new "Ad Settings" page lets users turn off some ads right on Facebook without having to bother with individually closing ads and selecting "I don't want to see this" to block future advertisement of such a nature or from the same advertiser. The emphasis, however, is on "some."
"You can't block Facebook ads entirely. Ads help keep Facebook free and we strive to show you only ads that are relevant and interesting to you," according to Facebook's help center.
Moreover, following last year's announcement, Facebook will now assess user statistics from the "Like" button and similar features to generate more specific ads that the company hopes will be "more useful and relevant."
In essence, Facebook is saying that whereas you can't ever get rid of ads altogether, you can choose which ones you get.
Photo: Sean MacEntee | Flickr
