Facebook has come under fire of late for the way it handles user data, and the companies it allows to access said data.

In a bid to be more transparent in this regard, the social media firm announced some changes to targeted advertising on the platform.

No, they aren’t removing targeted ads from appearing on Facebook, but they will introducing a new feature to the “Why this ad?” button that features on the adverts. There will now be an option to see who uploaded your contact information which led to the ad heading your way.

This change will take place as of 28th February, and now users will be able to see if the targeted ads are coming straight from a retailer or from some other third-party. It’s therefore a welcome change from the previous system which only showed which company used your data, and not where the source came from.

That said, this is still a half-baked solution in our view, especially as there is no recourse for Facebook users should they wish to stop their data being used by a particular source.

Hopefully though this works as a deterrent for companies like Cambridge Analytica from using data for more nefarious ends.

[Source – TechCrunch]