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Facebook Will Reveal Who Uploaded Your Contact Info For Ad Targeting (techcrunch.com)

In March, TechCrunch discovered Facebook planned to require advertisers pledge that they had permission to upload someone's phone number or email address for ad targeting. That tool debuted in June, though there was no verification process and Facebook just took businesses at their word despite the financial incentive to lie. In November, Facebook launched a way for ad agencies and marketing tech developers to specify who they were buying promotions "on behalf of." Soon that information will finally be revealed to users. From the report: Starting February 28th, Facebook's "Why am I seeing this?" button in the drop-down menu of feed posts will reveal more than the brand who paid for the ad, some biographical details they targeted, and if they'd uploaded your contact info. Facebook will start to show when your contact info was uploaded, if it was by the brand or one of their agency/developer partners, and when access was shared between partners. A Facebook spokesperson tells me the goal to keep giving people a better understanding of how advertisers use their information.

This new level of transparency could help users pinpoint what caused a brand to get ahold of their contact info. That might help them to change their behavior to stay more private. The system could also help Facebook zero in on agencies or partners who are constantly uploading contact info and might not have attained it legitimately. Apparently seeking not to dredge up old privacy problems, Facebook didn't publish a blog post about the change but simply announced it in a Facebook post to the Facebook Advertiser Hub Page.

12 of 35 comments (clear)

  1. Useless by goombah99 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    You will see every listing of this be from a mysterious entity named
    Benevolent offshore Cut-out corporation

    --
    Some drink at the fountain of knowledge. Others just gargle.
    1. Re:Useless by alvinrod · · Score: 1

      Worse than that, it will be political ads designed to annoy you but appear to be from some other candidate so that you hate them in turn.

  2. Re:Simple solution ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

    They already have your info in a shadow account. So, you have the problem and no control over it.

  3. Translation by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    "Lets look as though we are doing something meaningful for privacy before privacy gets imposed on us by government"

    With the idea that in 6 months time "The idea, while good was not popular so development of this has stopped and the service will be removed in the near future"

  4. Oh FFS, really? by JustAnotherOldGuy · · Score: 2

    "... there was no verification process and Facebook just took businesses at their word despite the financial incentive to lie. "

    This is sleazy, even for Facebook, which is a pile of sleaze built on a foundation of sleaze by sleazy scumbags whose every waking moment is dedicated to finding even more sleazy ways to fuck you over.

    --
    Just cruising through this digital world at 33 1/3 rpm...
  5. Upload or download? by Typing_Ptarmigan · · Score: 1

    TFA says "uploaded" multiple times. Doesn't it seem like advertisers would download (not upload) your info from Facebook?

    1. Re:Upload or download? by PixetaledPikachu · · Score: 1

      TFA says "uploaded" multiple times. Doesn't it seem like advertisers would download (not upload) your info from Facebook?

      AFAIK, one of the advertising method available on facebook is that advertisers can upload a list of contact info (phone numbers, email addresses) to facebook, and facebook will match these info to their corresponding accounts, and voila, ads are served to you. I remember this when I review what facebook has on me, and they showed me which advertisers has my email address and upload them to facebook

  6. Why did that do that? by AndyKron · · Score: 1

    They shouldn't have allowed that in the first place.

  7. link blocked... by alabamatoy · · Score: 1

    The "Facebook advertisers hub page" linked in the post appears blocked - it says "Sorry, this content isn't available right now The link you followed may have expired, or the page may only be visible to an audience you're not in.". Can someone who has access to it post it somehow?

    --
    Freedom carries sacrifice
  8. Horse, barn door, wrong problem by ripvlan · · Score: 1

    The "Why am I seeing this?" What will I see "A friend uploaded your contact info to us" ? How da'fck do I stop other people from leaking my info?!?!?

    I clicked the button "Dear FB - don't share my info" (actually - "You can't have my info") --- but apparently if a friend is willing to share my data, well that's okay. FB didn't get it from me.

    The horse has left the barn. The Ad companies already have the data. Closing the door now doesn't solve the problem.

    I actually have a different email address for FB which exists solely for signing into things like this. My friends don't have it. FB knows were friends but can't link my email address in their contact list to know that its me. Same with my phone number - I have a virtual number that my friends don't have, but FB thinks they do.

    And I'm sure they already have figured that out and don't care - my data is stitched together anyhow.

  9. Technically they're hashed (at least w/Google...) by WoTG · · Score: 1

    I'm not sure if it was Facebook or Google or both, you don't technically match on email address. They technically match on hashes of email addresses to protect your "privacy". Look out for that doublespeak when it comes to advertisers online...

  10. Re:Technically they're hashed (at least w/Google.. by PixetaledPikachu · · Score: 1

    I'm not sure if it was Facebook or Google or both, you don't technically match on email address. They technically match on hashes of email addresses to protect your "privacy". Look out for that doublespeak when it comes to advertisers online...

    The point being discussed was whether advertisers download or upload. I'm simply pointing out that advertisers can upload as well