Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Ask HN: Can we find out why a specific ad appears in our Facebook feed?

news.ycombinator.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

11–20 of 65 posts

Re: Ask HN: Can we find out why a specific ad appears in our Facebook feed?

#11

Post by crottypeter »

basch wrote: post #9
amelius wrote: post #6

Here's a theory: after your conversation with your friends, one of your friends checked out the Campari product on the web, and from there FB deduced that you might also be interested.

or facebook knew you were at a restaurant that served it searches for "Campari" are 1000x normal in this geographic area

why not both?

I don't think even facebook can necessarily reveal "the reason" an ad is shown because there are probably several reasons (combined) which lead to each story and ad in your feed.

Re: Ask HN: Can we find out why a specific ad appears in our Facebook feed?

#12

Post by 627467 »

I suspect it is Campari season and they are just pushing their ads around this time of the year. I also have been "spammed" with Campari ads on YouTube for no apparent reason. I don't like it. Never searched for it. But live in a country where campari-orange is a staple night-out drink.

(Edit) to complete my 'theory': Campari has been advertising a lot, including pushing its use in bars/restaurants and pushing ads online, increasing likelyhood of that coincidence to happen.

Re: Ask HN: Can we find out why a specific ad appears in our Facebook feed?

#13

Post by 00deadbeef »

I went on Facebook yesterday and there was an ad from a retailer I used once ages ago that said, "We noticed you haven't shopped with us for a while, blah blah, here's a special offer". I use uBlock and have Pi-hole blocking stuff like this at the DNS level, so how have they been able to connect my accounts in such a way the retailer can target me? They even use different email addresses.

Re: Ask HN: Can we find out why a specific ad appears in our Facebook feed?

#14

Post by kimburgess »

I've had similar experiences. One in particular: I had a private, in-person conversation with a work colleague about a very niche company that until that point I'd never heard of. He does not use Facebook. Advertising profiles may have been connected from other services, but no way to connect directly due to any proximity / micro-location service.

After that conversation and without me searching for anything further relating to that subject I began being targeted with ads for the same company.

When that popped up I deleted Facebook from all personal devices. It may have been co-incidental, but there have been to many other similar situations that have made me question the validity of their official statements.

Re: Ask HN: Can we find out why a specific ad appears in our Facebook feed?

#15

Post by basch »

tmnvix wrote: post #10
basch wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

or facebook knew you were at a restaurant that served it searches for "Campari" are 1000x normal in this geographic area

> Following day I open my FB feed and something weird happened - there was a Campari ad...

?

facebook knows where I was yesterday

Re: Ask HN: Can we find out why a specific ad appears in our Facebook feed?

#16

Post by marcusgarvey »

00deadbeef wrote: post #13

I went on Facebook yesterday and there was an ad from a retailer I used once ages ago that said, "We noticed you haven't shopped with us for a while, blah blah, here's a special offer". I use uBlock and have Pi-hole blocking stuff like this at the DNS level, so how have they been able to connect my accounts in such a way the retailer can target me? They even use different email addresses.

Credit card purchase data? FB ads offer a way to target based on info from Experian, et al.

Re: Ask HN: Can we find out why a specific ad appears in our Facebook feed?

#17

Post by marcusgarvey »

00deadbeef wrote: post #13

I went on Facebook yesterday and there was an ad from a retailer I used once ages ago that said, "We noticed you haven't shopped with us for a while, blah blah, here's a special offer". I use uBlock and have Pi-hole blocking stuff like this at the DNS level, so how have they been able to connect my accounts in such a way the retailer can target me? They even use different email addresses.

Credit card purchase data? FB ads offer a way to target based on info from Experian, et al.

Re: Ask HN: Can we find out why a specific ad appears in our Facebook feed?

#18

Post by akerro »

amelius wrote: post #7
amelius wrote: post #6

Here's a theory: after your conversation with your friends, one of your friends checked out the Campari product on the web, and from there FB deduced that you might also be interested.

And here's another theory: you were already targeted by the Campari ad before, but you were not consciously aware of it. This triggered the conversation with your friends.

Facebook knew he was interested in Campari, so they put Campari on menu in his local restaurant? That's smart!

Re: Ask HN: Can we find out why a specific ad appears in our Facebook feed?

#19

Post by throwaway_374 »

627467 wrote: post #12

I suspect it is Campari season and they are just pushing their ads around this time of the year. I also have been "spammed" with Campari ads on YouTube for no apparent reason. I don't like it. Never searched for it. But live in a country where campari-orange is a staple night-out drink. (Edit) to complete my 'theory': Campari has been advertising a lot, including pushing its use in bars/restaurants and pushing ads on…

Seconded, you are just selecting for your own bias. Facebook knew you were at a bar. Campari happened to be pushing ads. You noticed the ad and probably disregarded other bar-related ads.

Re: Ask HN: Can we find out why a specific ad appears in our Facebook feed?

#20

Post by laurent123456 »

Maybe you didn't search for Campari, but perhaps a significant number of people going to this restaurant also notice this cocktail (maybe it's presented more prominently?) and google it. Maybe this topic also comes up more frequently within group of friends of a certain age, etc. So for FB, This restaurant + group of friends = show a Campari ad.
Post reply on HN