Facebook is offering users more control over the ads they see

14 Nov 2014

Irish Facebook users will soon be able to take better control of the ads they see, with the roll out of the social network’s new Ad Preference tool.

Following a successful launch in the US, Ad Preference, which allows users to state what topics they are interested in so they see more relevant ads, will be introduced to Ireland. In addition, Facebook has also repaired a glitch that caused those who opted out of certain kinds of advertising on their laptop to still see the ads on the phones or tablets.

Facebook is also updating its terms and policies to reflect recent updates to the service. The revisions include a breakdown of how the company obtains a user’s location information, additional resources for advertisers, and changes to the data policy that makes it clearer to read. The firm has also announced the launch of Privacy Basics, a how-to guide that gives users tips on how to adjust their security levels.

“We’ve heard from some of you that it can be difficult to control the types of ads you see if you use multiple devices and browsers,” wrote chief privacy officer Erin Egan in a statement.

“In the past, if you opted out of certain kinds of advertising on your laptop, that choice may not have been applied for ads on your phone. We know that many people use more than one phone, tablet, or browser to access Facebook, so it should be easy for you to make a single choice that applies across all of your devices.”

The announcements come just a few days after Facebook unveiled changes to give users greater control of their news feed. Each story that appears now comes with additional tools that are accessible via the arrow in the top right corner of the post.

Facebook image via Shutterstock

Dean Van Nguyen was a contributor to Silicon Republic

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