How Does Facebook Decide Which Ads to Show Me?

Facebook’s Help Center gives five examples of things it could use to decide which ads a person sees: their activity on Facebook, content they create or interact with, details from their account, information that advertisers and partners share, and their activity off Facebook. This entry is the viewer’s side of delivery, written for someone who runs ads. It is as checked on 2 Oct 2026.

What does Facebook say it could use to choose ads?

Facebook says it wants the ads a person sees to be as interesting and useful to them as possible. Its help page lists these as examples of things it could use:

• Your activity on Facebook, such as liking a Page or clicking on ads you see
• Content you create or interact with across Facebook and Instagram
• Other information from your Facebook account, such as your age, gender, location and the devices you use to access Facebook
• Information advertisers, their partners and Meta’s marketing partners share with Facebook
• Your activity on websites and apps off Facebook

The page does not rank these or say how much each one counts. It is a list of example kinds of information, not a formula.

How can a person see why they got a specific ad?

Facebook gives these steps:

1. Click Options in the top right of the ad.
2. Click Why am I seeing this ad? to see factors that may have influenced why the ad was shown, for example activity on Meta technologies or with the advertiser.
3. Click Next, if it is available, to view more information about why the ad was shown.

The entry on what Why am I seeing this ad shows covers the panel in more detail, including how Meta described it in 2019.

How does machine learning fit in?

Meta says it uses machine learning models to help explain the insights shown in Why am I seeing this ad?. In its words, these models help surface how certain activity, both on and off Meta technologies, may have contributed to Facebook showing a particular ad.

Note the word “may”. Meta describes factors that may have influenced the ad, so read the panel as an explanation, not as a guarantee of the exact cause.

Do a person’s settings change this?

Meta’s page points people to three adjustments: the Ad preferences page, the setting for ads based on activity from other businesses, and hiding an ad or an advertiser. It also says ad preferences can be managed in Accounts Centre. One caveat sits on the same page. Meta says a person’s settings may not affect whether it uses their information to avoid showing certain ads, and gives an example: it may not show ads for something the person has recently purchased.

What should an advertiser take from this?

• Information that advertisers and their partners share is one of five examples on Meta’s list, alongside the other kinds above.
• Activity off Facebook is on the list, so what a person did elsewhere may contribute to why they see your ad.
• Because Meta says it may not show ads for something a person recently bought, an ad for that item may not reach them.
• For how the auction works from the advertiser’s side, read the entry on how the Meta ad auction works.

FAQ

Does Facebook use my activity on other websites and apps?

Facebook’s page lists your activity on websites and apps off Facebook as one example. It also lists information that advertisers, their partners and marketing partners share. Meta says it uses machine learning models to help explain the Why am I seeing this ad insights, and that they help surface how activity on and off Meta technologies may have contributed.

Is the Why am I seeing this ad panel a full list of reasons?

Meta says the insights don’t represent all of the factors contributing to delivering an ad. It says the panel shows factors that may have influenced why you saw the ad, and that you can click Next, if available, for more information. Treat it as an explanation, not a full audit of the decision.

Why might I not see ads for something I just bought?

Meta says your settings may not affect whether it uses your information to avoid showing you certain ads. Its example is that it may not show you ads for something you have recently purchased. The page does not say how long “recently” lasts, so there is no fixed window to quote.