How does Facebook decide which ads to show me?

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If you're in the European region, your ad choices are different. Learn more about your ad choices.

The ads that you see depend on a number of factors.
Follow these steps to learn more details about why our ad delivery system showed you a specific ad:
  1. Click more in the top right of the ad.
  2. Click "Why am I seeing this ad?". You'll see some of the factors that we think may have influenced why our ads delivery system showed you this ad. For example, you visited the advertiser's website or topics that our system may have prioritised for you based on your activity.
  3. If available, click next to the reason why you're seeing an ad to view more information.
How machine learning helps us provide insight into why you saw an ad
We use machine learning models that mirror our ads delivery models to provide the insights found in "Why am I seeing this ad?". These models create and surface how certain activity both on and off Meta technologies contributed to Facebook showing you a particular ad.
For example, liking a post, clicking on an ad or activity on websites, apps and products sent to us from advertisers. Meta's use of your activity off Meta technologies depends on your ad settings. While these insights don't represent all of the factors contributing to delivering an ad, we use them to provide you with an informative and understandable view into some of the factors that contributed to why you saw an ad.
How we decide which ads to show you:
We want the ads you see on Facebook to be as interesting and useful to you as possible. These are examples of things that we could use to decide which ads to show you:
  • Your activity on Facebook (such as liking a Page or clicking on ads you see). If you have linked your Facebook and Instagram accounts, your activity on Instagram may also affect your ads on Facebook.
  • Content that you create or interact with across Facebook and Instagram.
  • Other information about you from your Facebook account (e.g. your age, your gender, your location and the devices you use to access Facebook).
  • Information that advertisers, their partners and our marketing partners share with us that they already have, such as your email address.
  • Additional policies are in place for ads shown to teens. You can learn more from the Help Centre article.
  • Your activity on websites and apps off Facebook. Learn more about how to turn this off in your ad settings.
Note:
  • "Why am I seeing this ad?" provides an explanation of some of the activity that we think may have influenced why our ads delivery system showed you this ad.
  • Learn more about your activity by visiting Access your information to see and manage your Facebook information or learn how to download your Facebook information for review.
  • We don't share information that personally identifies you (information such as your name or email address that by itself can be used to contact you or identifies who you are) unless you give us permission. To learn more about the information Meta receives and how we use it, visit our Privacy Policy and Cookies Policy.
  • We use information that you provide to us, actions that you've taken on our platforms, and if applicable, actions that you've taken on other websites, apps or in shops that those businesses or organisations have shared.
  • We do not use information with special protections that you choose to provide to show you ads.
Learn more about how ads work on Facebook.
To adjust what ads you see:
If you're seeing ads that aren't interesting to you, you can:
  • Adjust your ad preferences. Visit your Ad preferences page, where you can manage things such as your interests and your profile information to get a more personalised experience. Learn more about your ad preferences.
  • Update your ads based on activity information from ad partners setting. You can choose whether we use information based on your activity on websites or apps off Meta technologies for the purpose of showing you ads in your ad settings.
  • Hide ads from an advertiser. If you're seeing an advertiser that isn't interesting to you, you can hide an ad or hide an advertiser.
You can also manage your ad preferences in Accounts Centre.
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