Facebook Myth: The 5 Biggest Facebook Advertising Myths

Facebook has currently cleared up the various advertising myths in its newsroom!

In April 2019 we already reported on the following content : “It's strange, you're talking to a friend via Facebook Messenger about your visit to the dentist and two days later the app shows you advertising from a dental clinic - coincidence? Not for many users.” According to NDR Markt, the Hamburg Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information has recorded an increase in complaints since late summer 2018. Users suspect: Facebook is listening.” Is this all just a Facebook myth?

Now Facebook is currently writing on this topic, saying that they keep coming across various myths about advertising. Facebook has therefore provided a selection of the five biggest myths and an explanation as to why it is a myth:

Myth 1: Facebook sells its users’ data to advertisers.

No, Facebook does not sell personal information such as names, Facebook posts, email addresses or phone numbers. This principle is one of our most important principles. We provide aggregate metrics to help companies understand how people interact with their ads, pages, and posts. Advertisers receive reports with aggregated information about the performance of their ads and the types of people they reached. However, we never share personal information that could identify individuals.

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Myth 2: Facebook listens to its users via the smartphone microphone.

No, Facebook does not listen in or use the cell phone microphone to influence advertising in any way. The same applies to WhatsApp. Both apps only access the microphone if a user has expressly allowed the apps to do so beforehand and is actively using a function that requires audio signals, such as recording a video, voice message or during phone calls. There is also no exchange of conversation content between WhatsApp and Facebook for advertising purposes. This applies regardless of the existing encryption.

We comply now and in the future with applicable data protection laws in the EU and cooperate with European data protection authorities, in particular with our data protection authority in Ireland.

Myth 3: Facebook uses its users' private photos for its advertisers' ads.

Although this myth persists, it is not true. All images that people post on Facebook do not belong to the platform - but to themselves or their respective authors. When creating an account, everyone enters into a user agreement with Facebook that clearly states that the company is not allowed to sell a single photo of its users. The rights to images shared on Facebook remain with the rights holders.

Myth 4: People can't control what ads they see on Facebook.

Facebook only wants to show people ads that are useful and relevant to them. Therefore, each user can individually customize which ads he or she sees. in the advertising settings you can specify which categories are of interest to the user. He can also control which of his information is used for advertising. Individual advertisements can also be hidden or advertisements from certain companies that the individual does not like or are of no interest to them can be blocked.

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Thanks to advertising we can offer our services free of charge. However, advertising should not have a negative impact on the user experience. It is also important for companies that the advertisements that people see are just as interesting to them as the other content. Because users are unlikely to be interested in products and services in ads that they find irrelevant or annoying. That's why we look at people first. Our auction system determines which advertisements are shown to individuals. It prioritizes content based on how relevant it is to the individual - and not solely based on how much money Facebook could make from advertising.

Myth 5: There are so many fake accounts on Facebook that advertising hardly reaches real people.

Fake accounts damage our platform and our business model. After all, people want to connect with other people. Advertisers work with Facebook to reach real people with relevant advertising. This is also why we do a lot to prevent and take action against fake accounts. With dedicated teams and technology, we can prevent millions of attempts to create fake accounts every day - we're getting better at it and can often tell whether an account is a fake profile within minutes of creating it. On the one hand, there are teams that can detect fake profiles and delete them with technological support – with the help of artificial intelligence. On the other hand, we have teams that record reports of fake profiles, check them and delete them if necessary. In addition, personal registration allows advertisers to reach “real people” - regardless of cookies and their inaccuracy.

In the first quarter of 2019, we (Facebook) removed 2.2 billion fake accounts. The majority of these accounts were captured and blocked within minutes of registration - before they could even take action. We estimate that fake accounts currently represent around 5 percent of our monthly active users worldwide.

In line with this topic:

• You too are being monitored by Facebook!
• That's why you might want to deactivate Facebook's location function!
• Block Facebook ads for my Facebook account