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Facebook Tests “Opt Out of Advertiser” Option

posted on September 2, 2011


Facebook wants to make you happy. That’s why they have a little X next to the sidebar ads that allows you to get rid of any pitch that doesn’t please you. Now, they’re taking it a step further by allowing users to block specific advertisers.

According to Inside Facebook, the “hide all from [advertiser]” option is currently being beta tested as part of the drop down you see pictured here.

For Facebook, this is an easy way to get the users to their job for them. If a large number of people block ads saying they’re misleading, then Facebook’s backend should see the problem and bring it to a human’s attention.

It may not seem like it, but this option could actually benefit marketers, too. Anyone who opts out of ads from your company wasn’t going to buy from you in the first place. They never see your name again and you don’t have to pay for poorly targeted impressions.

I believe that Facebook has good intentions, making the users feel like they actually have some control over their pages and all that. But honestly, Facebook ads are so unobtrusive, do we really need a system to make them stop? There could be sexually explicit ads all over my Facebook pages right now and I wouldn’t know it. Maybe I’m picking up those ads in my peripheral vision, but I can’t remember the last time I actually focused on, let alone clicked on, one of those ads. (With today’s research for this post being an exception.)

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If Facebook was serving up pop-up ads or videos with autoplay, I could understand the need for an opt-out button. But if you’re truly bothered by a still and silent pitch for an item you don’t want, then maybe you need to turn off the internet and go for a walk in the great outdoors. I hear they have trees and birds.

What do you think of Facebook’s opt-out options? Good, bad or indifferent?


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  • http://www.arcanasphere.com MrAndrewJ

    As a user: I like this. Just because I like one artist, company or product doesn’t mean I want to endure the work of a similar creator.

    As an Internet Professional: I like this. I’ve had AdWord campaigns get shoved to the dark, deep void of social media sites. Click through rate was something like 0.03% and those clicks never ended well either.

    In the middle: who wants to pay money to annoy people who don’t want to care about us?

    I hope you all have a great weekend.

  • http://theWebalyst.com theWebalyst

    It is charitable or naive to suppose Facebook are doing this to make users happy.

    I think this garners valuable information for them, at the expense of users (who have to put work in).

    Personally I don’t want web advertising at all. I’m only on Facebook to network with the people I choose, and Facebook pages give me the opportunity to network with businesses I am intersted in.

    There is a better option for users who want to exclude ads from Facebook and any other website: AdBlock Plus

    Mark (in London)

  • NaVy

    Personally I sometimes check the ads appearing on Facebook. If they are small, done in a “friendly” manner (not blicking with bright screeming words), I don’t mind them.
    However, everything is good to an extent – if the ads on Facebook remain withing the same quantity and size (also, proportionally to the whole facebook page out-lay), then let it be. No need then to switch them off.

  • NaVy

    Personally I don’t mind the ads on facebook. Sometimes I might even check them out.
    However, I would start minding them if they were too obtrusive: sreaming bright words/ phrases would be quite disturbing. I would definitely try to switch them off.

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