If you’re not already aware of this fact, the main way in which Facebook earns its money basically involves advertising. It uses its enormous userbase to provide advertisers and marketers with an enormous sandbox in which they can target ads and the like, and for the longest time Facebook was heavily criticized because of the fact that a lot of people felt like it was using user private data without explicit permission and it was intentionally keeping the details of this data usage from the very people that it was profiting from.
In the wake of increasing controversy, Facebook ended up making a few changes to the way it does business, changes that were meant to make it easier for users to gain a little more control over how their data is used and when. Initially these changes were made for the sake of transparency, they told users who was using the data and why they were seeing certain ads but at the end of the day the average user didn’t have all that much control over the kind of data that was being used by marketing agencies, brands and the like.
Some recent changes that Facebook made seem to be changing this for the better. Now you can actually control whether or not you want to be on a list that would have you targeted with certain ads. Facebook provides a service to advertisers wherein they allow said advertisers to look into customizing their audience so that each ad they create would end up reaching people that are more likely to respond to said ads. However, it’s fair to say that a lot of people simply won’t appreciate being on lists like this, which is why you are now going to have the option to remove yourself from this list, something that gives you a lot more control over how your data ends up being used.
You are also going to be getting more transparency as a Facebook user. Now not only would you be able to see what advertisers have access to your data but you would also be able to see the data broker or marketing agency that acquired your data in order to use it in this manner in the first place.
All of these changes are quite heartening since it shows that Facebook is taking its criticism seriously and is making strides towards improving its conduct with regards to user data, something that is definitely going to help a lot of people breathe a sigh of relief. It’s important to note that there still remains much to be desired, and more effort must be put into protecting the average internet user.
Read next: Facebook has no Immediate Plans to Implement End-to-End Encryption on Messenger App; Should you move to a Different Platform?
In the wake of increasing controversy, Facebook ended up making a few changes to the way it does business, changes that were meant to make it easier for users to gain a little more control over how their data is used and when. Initially these changes were made for the sake of transparency, they told users who was using the data and why they were seeing certain ads but at the end of the day the average user didn’t have all that much control over the kind of data that was being used by marketing agencies, brands and the like.
Some recent changes that Facebook made seem to be changing this for the better. Now you can actually control whether or not you want to be on a list that would have you targeted with certain ads. Facebook provides a service to advertisers wherein they allow said advertisers to look into customizing their audience so that each ad they create would end up reaching people that are more likely to respond to said ads. However, it’s fair to say that a lot of people simply won’t appreciate being on lists like this, which is why you are now going to have the option to remove yourself from this list, something that gives you a lot more control over how your data ends up being used.
You are also going to be getting more transparency as a Facebook user. Now not only would you be able to see what advertisers have access to your data but you would also be able to see the data broker or marketing agency that acquired your data in order to use it in this manner in the first place.
All of these changes are quite heartening since it shows that Facebook is taking its criticism seriously and is making strides towards improving its conduct with regards to user data, something that is definitely going to help a lot of people breathe a sigh of relief. It’s important to note that there still remains much to be desired, and more effort must be put into protecting the average internet user.
Read next: Facebook has no Immediate Plans to Implement End-to-End Encryption on Messenger App; Should you move to a Different Platform?
