Have you noticed ads on your Facebook wall that say something like, Uncle Bob likes a particular bank, or your friend likes a certain brand of cat food?
Do you think they are aware of their name appearing in those ads? Probably not.
What is more, your friends are probably also seeing similar things – and they will likely see YOUR name in there, even if you know nothing about it.
Such ads may even appear on other web sites, far away from Facebook itself.
Here is the reason: Facebook are doing their most to connect your “likes”, “follows” and other clicks to specific companies… because this is one of their income streams. They are turning it into ads, showing those ads to your friends, and getting paid by the businesses in the ads.
Companies are willing to pay handsomely for this to happen, because ads have a bigger impact when the product is endorsed by someone – especially if it is someone that the reader knows in person.
So your friends are constantly being fed ads with your name in it – that is, if you have ever clicked a “Like” button or similar, somewhere on the web.
All of this is happening by default. You have probably given your consent at some point, when you did not pay attention to the fine print… but you have probably never been asked specifically if it is okay that you are seen to endorse these ads.
Anyway, you can choose whether or not to allow Facebook to continue to use your name in ads.
I felt like opting out, because I did not like the whole thing. Now, let me just tell you how you can do the same, if you wish…
Go to Facebook Settings, and find the Ads section on the left-hand side. Scroll down to “Ads and Friends”, click “Edit” and look for the dropdown selection box labeled “Pair my social actions with ads for…”
Change it from “Friends” to “No one” and click Save Changes. That is all.