Facebook is trying hard to improve its ad-related revenue and has undertaken a number of measures recently to show a better performance on that front. Now, the social network has unveiled plans of rolling out a new tool which would let businesses target ads on users based on their phone numbers and email addresses.
The mention of phones numbers and email may have pricked up the ears of many privacy-rights activists but apparently, there is no reason to worry. The whole process seems fair and is rather, intelligently managed.
Here is how it works: Facebook will get phone numbers and email of users from different businesses. The data will essentially indicate such people who have made use of that business’ offerings. Facebook will then cross-match the data on the social network and will see how many of these users exist on Facebook. It will then let the relevant business, who provided the data, to push targeted ads to such users.
So in a way, this new advertising tool will allow different businesses to target their Facebook ads at such users who have already used their products or services. Without a doubt, it looks like a smart move.
As far as privacy rights are concerned, Facebook assures that the whole process is very secure and no personal information of any user will be shared. Data from businesses will be hashed when it reaches Facebook, which means that folks over at Facebook won’t be able to read it. This data goes straight to the advertising section and lets the business push targeted ads.
So, the data of the users remains secure and is used only to target them with relevant ads. Targeted ads have proved far better than random ads over recent times because they are usually presented based on a user’s genuine interests.
Courtesy: CNET
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