We asked several people to screen record themselves as they tried to find the ad preferences menu and change a few of their settings. We also also asked them to do a journal entry explaining their experience in doing so. Below, you can find both the screen recordings and the journal entries from 4 of our respondents.
Respondent 1:
“I honestly had a very hard time finding the settings button on mobile, let alone the ad preferences page. However, once I got there everything was pretty well explained and I learned a lot of new things with how Facebook uses my information. I also feel a little more confident in that I had a say in what interests fit me and what I allow from other businesses.”
Respondent 2:
“I did not know prior to this about the ad settings that existed on Facebook. I found it difficult at first to navigate my way to the ad section in settings but all of the ad related preferences were grouped together and easily accessible once I found them. I was shocked to see the large list of interests I supposedly have along with the advertisers and businesses that used a list. I had no problem with companies using my activity for data, but I decided to turn off Facebook’s ability to show my social actions.”
Respondent 3:
“The settings were not hard to find but not easy either. They were at the bottom of everything and I wasn’t sure exactly what they were. Without the guide I wouldn’t know what I’m looking at and I wouldn’t know I can change that much. I also wasn’t sure how what I’m changing effected me because it doesn’t really say. There are a lot of interests and advertisers I don’t care about but I can’t remove them quickly and easily so I stopped.”
Respondent 4:
“I liked the categories of ads I’ve clicked on, businesses who’ve uploaded and used a list, and other advertisers/businesses I’ve interacted. The option button made it clear that it was the button to edit settings about the ads. I have used the settings before, so I knew it was somewhere in settings. There’s a whole section labeled “Ads”, so I was able to tell what one it was.”
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