Your Picture May Appear in Facebook Ads - How to Opt Out of that Feature
Posted: Tuesday, July 21, 2009
by Lorrie Davids
In a little known corner of your Facebook page, unless you have opted out, your picture can and may be used by Facebook to promote products you have not endorsed. An article by Josh Smith tells the story of Cheryl Smith's surprise when her picture appeared in an ad for "Hot Singles". Josh goes on to explain that just by being a part of Facebook, you allow them to use your picture as they wish.
So, how do you opt out? Rest your cursor on Settings in your Facebook profile and click on Privacy Settings. Next, click on News Feed and Wall which controls what activity is visible on your profile. Click on the Facebook Ads tab. Adjust your settings and click on Save Changes.
This may be harmless, but I don't want my picture paired with an ad for anything without my knowledge and consent.
After you save the changes to your profile, it might be a good idea to go back one page and double check the activity that shows in your profile. Make sure your profile only shows what you want it to show. If you have teens who frequent Facebook, this is a good thing to check out on their profiles, also.
Sources: WalletPop and Facebook http://www.facebook.com/ext/share.php?sid=107456389900 & h=i8Ji3 & u=UkK7b & ref=nf
This may be harmless, but I don't want my picture paired with an ad for anything without my knowledge and consent.
After you save the changes to your profile, it might be a good idea to go back one page and double check the activity that shows in your profile. Make sure your profile only shows what you want it to show. If you have teens who frequent Facebook, this is a good thing to check out on their profiles, also.
Sources: WalletPop and Facebook http://www.facebook.com/ext/share.php?sid=107456389900 & h=i8Ji3 & u=UkK7b & ref=nf
This Article has been viewed 3,551 times. (Not updated in real-time.)
Top-level comments on this article: (10 total)Lorrie, thank you so much for sharing this info! I had no idea. Wow - must be in the tiny-ghost print. I am forwarding this article to all my friends. I am printing it out so I can follow the instructions! Nice job! TeresaHey Teresa, thanks for reading and commenting. Yeah, like most things, there is a catch. I'm thankful for a Facebook friend who called my attention to it.
Thanks for sharing that. I'd never seen that before - and for some reason the option doesn't even show up for me in Firefox (maybe my ad-blocker blocks the option itself).I've loaded up Facebook in Internet Explorer and set the Facebook Ads option to "No one".I also recommend going into the Privacy - Settings - Applications section and making sure you have the "Don't allow" Facebook Connect and Beacon things checked. I also have all the boxes unchecked in the top section, to prevent friends' applications getting their hands on all my info!Ben, good advice to check all the settings. Thanks for reading and commenting.
Good article! Something else that not many people are aware of is that the default setting for photo albums is "Everyone". So even if your profile is for friends only, anyone can view all of your posted photos. If you scroll down the left side of your home page and click "See All" on your Photos box, you'll see "album privacy" at the top. Then each photo album has a "Who can see this?" selection. Make sure those are set for EACH ALBUM as you prefer...Thanks, Jean, for reading and for your comment. I have some of my albums public because I send the link at the bottom to those not a part of Facebook to view them. I should probably change the settings back after a reasonable amount of time. Thanks for the advice! There is a lot there, if we look for it.
Great reminder Lorrie and also thanks for explaining how to change the settings--I'm going to change mine today!I changed my settings too, Steve. Thanks for taking the time to read and comment.
OMG ~ I hope this doesn't mean I have to log in to Facebook and/or accept the friends that have been hunting me for ages and ages LoL!!! Facebook is just not my thing but I am there....thanks for the heads up! I appreciate it! SuzyHi Suzy. I do enjoy Facebook, but am usually cautious. I am on the Internet enough in my daily responsibilities, so I don't spend too much time on FB - but I am a sucker for pictures! Thanks for reading and for the comment!
I learned about it from my friend and changed the setting straight away.Thanks for reading and commenting, Ricky. I did the same thing, then wrote about it. Have a great one!
Thanks for the information! I did not know about these features.You are welcome, Chris. Thanks for taking the time to check out the article and comment. I am still learning about features on FB.
Looks like we're all learning this one. Great article and topic; thank you for writing it. I'm learning different features on Facebook. I have yet to figure out how to create a Page on Facebook. Just can't get it. Dah! So any little explanation I find on Facebook is gold. I'm keeping this one handy.Welcome to SearchWarp, Old Gray Mare. Years ago, that was my Mom's handle for CB radio. Your name brings back some fun memories. I'm still trying to figure out FB and that they are having a lot of glitches lately doesn't help! Thanks for reading and commenting.
I've also had this moniker since I was a young woman and not old or even gray. Just fit into the horse bit and people remembered. Was fun to resurrect it. Hope you pop over sometime. I'm in your fan club. Hope you do some more articles like this one and will check your others soon.Thanks! I'm glad you are a part of SearchWarp. I am writing for one of the mini-sites frequently, so don't submit as much here as I used to. I am considering writing an article about another facebook feature in the near future for this site.
not very fair that you have to change your privacy settings in this way but I guess that's one of the ways they get a return on their investmentThanks for reading and commenting, Carley. You are probably right!
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