Meta’s updating its ‘Why Am I Seeing This Ad’ listing. That’s the news. Thanks for dropping by! Tis’ but a jest, of course. This particular Meta listing provides contextual information on ad targeting, and how Meta’s systems display ads to each user. While it won’t lay down everything in extreme detail, it at least provides you with some understanding of how Meta’s ad recommendations work.

So, Why? 

Meta initially launched its ‘Why Am I Seeing This Ad’ back in 2013, as a means to help people understand how its ad targeting works and dispelling what rumors were linked to such back then. It also guides users toward the various options they have for controlling the ads they see in its apps.

Meta has added a range of contextual tweaks and refinements since then, which it now looks to take a step even further, with more notes on why each user sees the ads that they do. As per Meta:

“Beginning today, the “Why am I seeing this ad?” tool on Facebook will include:

  • Information summarized into topics about how your activity both on and off our technologies – such as liking a post on a friend’s Facebook page or interacting with your favorite sports website – may inform the machine learning models we use to shape and deliver the ads you see.

  • New examples and illustrations explaining how our machine learning models connect various topics to show you relevant ads.

  • More ways to find our ads controls. You will now be able to access Ads Preferences from additional pages in the “Why am I seeing this ad?” tool.”

The new information panels will provide more contextual oversight as to why you’re seeing each ad, and how your various actions impact such. They’ll also provide more info for advertisers as to how Meta’s systems will display their ads to users. Based on these notes, the explainers point to all the various indicators that Meta’s systems can use to target people and maximize your ad performance through its machine learning system. Simply put, Meta included this to provide users with more perspective, providing assurance and broadening usage.

Meta says that these updates come as a result of various conversations with privacy experts and other stakeholders as to what else it should include in its ad transparency listings. One of the key feedback was that Meta should be more transparent about how its machine learning models contribute to the ads people see in its services.

This comes as Meta continues to refine its ad systems to mitigate data loss stemming from Apple’s ATT update. With more users opting out of data sharing with Meta’s apps, the company has had to restructure significant parts of its ad targeting around machine learning, as opposed to explicit user signals across apps.

The Wrap

This is now seemingly delivering better results for Meta. As per its recent earnings report, it has taken the platform some time to get its systems on track. It’s also why Meta is now looking to be more transparent about machine learning within its process. It may not be a huge change for most users, but it is interesting to see more data insight provided within this element, which might just help more people understand where Meta’s ads come from.

Sources

http://bit.ly/3EcpJPA