Thursday, October 10, 2013

Creepy Way Facebook Advertisers Use You!

How Facebook Is Using Your Photos in Ads?

Gmail isn't the only online platform guilty of repurposing your photos. Facebook and its advertisers, too, have become really good at using your image to inspire your friends' confidence in the products they are pushing.

A friend who recently experienced this said, "I did not realize that 'friending' [a company on Facebook] to get coupons probably means I've agreed to be used in their ads. Seeing a friend's picture [used this way] makes me suspicious my picture is doing the same thing on other people's Facebook pages."

What I find particularly interesting is the way Facebook explains away its practices with this statement, (which you can see for yourself if you follow the prevention steps below): "Everyone wants to know what their friends like. That's why we pair ads and friends."

Fortunately, there is a way to stop Facebook from using your profile picture in advertisements.

1) Go to "Privacy Settings"
2) Click on the "Ads" tab on the left hand side.
3) In the Third Party Sites section click on "Edit"
4) In the drop down menu, click "No one" and then "Save Changes"
5) In the Ads & Friends section click "Edit"
6) In the drop down menu, click "No one" and then "Save Changes"

NOTE: You cannot opt out of receiving Sponsored Stories, which are essentially another type of ad. If you like a story on a brand page or share that you engaged with a brand, that brand can pay Facebook to ensure that it shows up in yours and your friends' timeline feeds.

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