You are currently reading: Facebook Can Be Such a Jerk.

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But, we already knew that.

Anyway, most of us know there are some sneaky ways that Facebook tries and manipulates it’s users. Some may be ok with it but many of us aren’t. A few days ago I had seen an ad on facebook that said something about marketing and the picture on the ad was one of the prominent figures in social media marketing. I had been wondering myself why he would use Facebook ads to promote himself cause I know he doesn’t need anymore work. I mean the guy barely has time to eat dinner with the family.

So this is what Facebook is doing: they are using your pictures on ads without your permission. The ads are only shown to your friends but you never know what is being shown. Think about it for a minute. If your daughter is studying abroad and you are both using Facebook and are mutual friends, how would you feel if you saw an ad saying “Hot Singles You Can Take Home Tonight” ….. You would pick up the phone, dial the number and start questioning if she is there to study or to do shit like this. Depends how understanding of a parent you are when she says she never made an ad like that.

This can really cause some problems between friends and families. Especially among people who don’t really know the ins and outs of Facebook and how it has been using user profile and pictures on ads. If this bothers you there is a way you can put an end to this. Just follow the steps below to make sure none of your friends ar seeing you on “meet hot singles” ads,

  1. log on to your facebook
  2. Put your mouse pointer on “setting” at the top right. You should see three options, click on “Privacy settings.”
  3. Click on News Feed and Wall
  4. You will see two tabs at the top : “Actions within Facebook” and “Facebook ads.” Click on Facebook ads.
  5. Click the drop down menu and choose “no one” and click save changes.

Here is a video showing exactly how to disable the function if for some reason the steps above aren’t clear

This will make sure you are never seen on a Facebook ad unless you decide to create one yourself. As far as Facebook goes,

Stop being such a jerk and ask before you use user content.

Thanks to Cheryl Smith for pointing this out.

update : It seems like some Firefox users are having problem following the steps to deactivate the ads. I just found out that the problem exists if you are using an older version of Firefox. If you are using the latest version you should be good. If you are using FF and aren’t able to opt out using the steps above, please use a different browser and it should work. Not sure why FF is having this problem.

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Tags: Social Media // 24 Comments »

24 Very Welcome Comments Already

  1. Mike Haydon on July 15th, 2009 at 9:06 pm wrote:

    Thanks for pointing this out Ritu. I didn’t realize they were doing this.

  2. Ritu B. Pant on July 15th, 2009 at 9:15 pm wrote:

    Mike : Glad I could help

  3. Puja Madan on July 15th, 2009 at 10:10 pm wrote:

    Thanks for pointing it out and providing clear instructions. I think Chris Brogan mentioned this somewhere too. I’m getting increasingly disenchanted with Facebook.

  4. Ritu B. Pant on July 15th, 2009 at 10:17 pm wrote:

    Puja : I know what you mean. They seem to be using user data however they want. Also Chris had mentioned about how their “targeted ads” aren’t really “targeted.” Here is the link to his post http://www.chrisbrogan.com/fac.....-your-ads/

  5. Peter on July 15th, 2009 at 11:20 pm wrote:

    Bravo, Ritu! I have just been nagging somebody about this, and preening myself as a bit of an expert. I found this from a Hong Kong teacher-librarian who posted it to an Australian list. after she saw it on Twitter. Ah well, now I’m a BIT more expert!

  6. Lopa on July 15th, 2009 at 11:37 pm wrote:

    Thanks for sharing this….this was really eye-opener and helpful.

  7. Polly on July 16th, 2009 at 7:03 am wrote:

    Interesting info, thanks! I followed the directions up to step four and then was stymied as there is nothing whatsoever on the screen under “Facebook Ads”. I logged out, closed browser and went back in and still nothing – I can only surmise that I have some other privacy setting in place. Will be passing this info on to my friends, thanks again.

  8. Anke on July 16th, 2009 at 7:41 am wrote:

    Thanks for the hint!!
    For some reason, though, the tab with Facebook Ads is empty?! No content whatsoever?!
    Are they onto us already? or is this temporary glitch? Anyone else having this problem?

  9. Marilyn on July 16th, 2009 at 9:15 am wrote:

    THANK YOU!!!!

  10. Ritu B. Pant on July 16th, 2009 at 9:30 am wrote:

    @Polly and Anke : It seems like some Firefox users are having problems. If you are using older version of Firefox, please use a different browser, it seems to work fine on other browsers and on the latest version of Firefox as well. If you are using an old version, simply use IE or some other browser and it should work. Hope this helps.

  11. Leonard on July 16th, 2009 at 11:22 am wrote:

    Note to Firefox users: if you’re using the Adblock plugin, you may need to disable it in order to check or change this setting. Once you’ve made the change, you can re-enable it.

  12. Ritu B. Pant on July 16th, 2009 at 11:27 am wrote:

    Thanks Leonard :)

  13. June on July 16th, 2009 at 3:03 pm wrote:

    Thanks for the timely info .. I’ve wondered about seeing familiar faces in ads and now I know why. If we don’t know about this option we don’t have the option of saying no.

  14. Anke on July 16th, 2009 at 11:00 pm wrote:

    Thank you, now it worked!

  15. Olaf on July 16th, 2009 at 11:15 pm wrote:

    Hey thanx for the advice. I realize, that there are so many features one has to check in order to make social networking as safe as possible for one self and doing this kind of advertizing is kinda sneaky. But facebook didn’t quite do this without permission, I mean I you check your privacy settings these things dont happen… so there is the lesson to be learned ;o)

  16. Ritu B. Pant on July 17th, 2009 at 12:58 am wrote:

    Olaf : Agreed! But it certainly isn’t a fair practice. Legal? Yes. Fair? No! Deceiving? Yes!!

  17. Samia Nawshin on July 17th, 2009 at 12:52 pm wrote:

    Thank you very much, although it is not enough for you. Really, you did a great job.
    We are grateful to you :)

  18. Is Your Profile Pic Being Used by Facebook? - Personal Brand Solutions on July 23rd, 2009 at 11:33 am wrote:

    [...] luckily found this out this week and quickly updated my privacy settings. Thanks to Rita P. Pant’s blog for the heads up and detailed explanation on how to fix [...]

  19. Kuca Moraes on July 28th, 2009 at 1:15 pm wrote:

    Thanks 4 the hint, Ritu.
    Do you allow me to publish a translation (to brazilian portuguese) of this tutorial im my personal blog (link above)?
    With the proper credits and trackback, off course…

    Cheers!

  20. Ritu B. Pant on July 28th, 2009 at 3:34 pm wrote:

    Kuca : sure :)

  21. Todd Michael Greene on July 29th, 2009 at 5:37 am wrote:

    Debunking Rumors about Advertising and Photos

    http://blog.facebook.com/blog......0636457130

  22. ponor on July 30th, 2009 at 3:13 am wrote:

    Well interestingly this is what showed up – in a new window- when I did what you suggested in privacy settings today

    Worried about privacy? Your photos are safe.
    There have been misleading rumors recently about the use of your photos in ads. Don’t believe them. These rumors were related to third-party applications, and not ads shown by Facebook. Get the whole story at the Facebook Blog, or check out the Help Center.

  23. Carlion A. Rischar on June 28th, 2010 at 2:03 pm wrote:

    I want to be dropped from facebook can you helpme

  24. Carlion A. Rischar on June 28th, 2010 at 2:05 pm wrote:

    I hate facebook I want my kittenboogie@yahoo.com back can you help me

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