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How to find and block advertisers and apps on Facebook

How to find and block advertisers and apps on Facebook
Softonic Editorial Team

Softonic Editorial Team

  • Updated:

We all love Facebook – even more so that it’s free. But sometimes we find ourselves forgetting that all-important rule in life- that nothing is for free.

Like all great things in life, Facebook comes at a price, and in Zuckerberg’s billion-dollar world, privacy is the most popular form of currency.

You may already know that thousands of advertisers and apps are using our data every day, yet most of us are completely unaware as to what extent. Don’t panic yet, as all will be revealed.

Here are the easiest ways to find who they are, and stop them in their tracks!

How to track and block the advertisers that follow you:

1. Go to you Facebook Settings

2. Go to the settings.

2. Click on the Ads option on the left-hand-side of the screen

3. Click on the Ads button.

3. Click on the “Edit” buttons on each section

4. In each section of Ads, click on the "edit" buttons.

Once in this section, you can clearly see how some advertisers are using your Facebook ID in the ads that your contacts see on their feed. Many times when you “like” a page, you give the advertiser permission to do this.

This is easily changed by changing the option to “No one” (see below).

5. Inside the edit menu, it will show you how your Facebook ID is used in ads that other people see. In this hypothetical example, my friends are apparently seeing an ad for Jasper's Market that it appears I have endorsed (the ad is triggered by the fact that I liked the company in the past).

How to find and block the apps that follow you:

1. Go to Facebook Settings again

10. Once you're in the settings, go to Apps.

2. Select “App” from the left-hand side

10. Once you're in the settings, go to Apps.

You’ll now be presented with a list of all the apps that are currently tracking you on Facebook (similar to below).

11. This is the shocking bit, the list of company apps that are tracking you on Facebook. Apparently I have allowed 54 apps access to my Facebook account. Be sure to click on the "show all" button to get the full list.

Shocked? We thought so.

3. Place your pointer over one of the apps to reveal the Edit or Delete icons

13. Hover your mouse over one of the apps. You have options. You can edit the app's permissions or delete it completely so it can no longer access your Facebook account.

When you click Edit, you’ll be presented with a list which indicates exactly what the app is able to extract from your data. Scary, huh? Take your time to look at what apps are using what, and try to take back full control of your data!

If you’re curious as to what other information Facebook has on you, there’s a new feature which allows you to download all your Facebook data in just a few minutes. Click here to learn how!

Image source: Business Insider

Softonic Editorial Team

Softonic Editorial Team

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