Meta is updating its ad targeting options on platforms like Facebook and Instagram. This means that businesses won't be able direct ads to specific races, political affiliations, or sexual orientations. After years of criticisms about the company's advertising algorithms which were often viewed as intrusive, this decision is now official.
The company's recent renaming was announced in a blog posting on Tuesday. It noted that the "difficult choice" was driven by the feedback of civil rights experts as well as policymakers. Meta's Jan. 19 changes will see the end of detailed targeting for topics that "people may consider sensitive." These topics include those relating to health, race and religion.
"[W]e have heard concerns from experts about targeting options like this could lead to negative experiences people in underrepresented group," stated Graham Mudd (Meta's vice president for product marketing and ads).
The company stated that inclusion in a targeted group of users is not determined by their physical characteristics but rather by the content they interact. Many users find Facebook's assumptions of them disturbingly and unnervingly creepy.
"This change impacts all Meta properties where advertisers can display ads, including Facebook/IG/Messenger and our audience network," a Meta spokesperson told Mashable.
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Meta acknowledged that topic targeting might be less effective for Facebook and Instagram advertisers, but said the changes won't affect all targeted advertising. Advertisers still have the option to target potential customers based on their location, age, gender, location and whether they have interacted with the advertiser in the past.
Facebook's advertising is still vaguely creepy but it will seem more like it's lurking outside your home than inside your bedroom.
Meta plans to expand the number of categories from which users can see fewer ads. You can reduce the amount of ads related to politics, parenting and pets. However, you will be able to reduce ads that relate to gambling and weight loss in the first half of next year. This is a long-overdue change that will hopefully help those struggling with disordered eating or addiction.
