Facebook Adds User-Control Feature for News Feed

This is the time that Facebook has built information on how ranking works directly into the app, it said.

The steps are designed to deter the kind of election meddling and online information warfare that US authorities have accused Russia of pursuing, Zuckerberg said.

(Photo: iStock)

Facebook has introduced a new feature titled "Why am I seeing this post" to help users understand and control the kind of posts surfacing on their News Feed from friends, Pages and Groups.

"This means you'll be able to tap on posts and ads in News Feed, get context on why they're appearing and take action to further personalise what you see," Ramya Sethuraman, Product Manager, Facebook wrote in a blog-post on Sunday, 31 March.

(Photo: Facebook)

Following scandals surrounding the social networking giant on misusing user-information for ad targeting, this feature comes as Facebook’s first step to explain to users exactly how the News Feed gets personalised on the platform.

Facebook, in the blog-post said that the goal of News Feed is to show people the posts that are most relevant to them. “Why am I seeing this post?” which can be found in the drop down menu in the right hand corner of a post, explains how your past interactions impact the ranking of posts in your News Feed, it said:

• Why you’re seeing a certain post in your News Feed – for example, if the post is from a friend you made, a Group you joined, or a Page you followed.
• What information generally has the largest influence over the order of posts, including: (a) how often you interact with posts from people, Pages or Groups; (b) how often you interact with a specific type of post, for example, videos, photos or links; and (c) the popularity of the posts shared by the people, Pages and Groups you follow.
• Shortcuts to controls, such as See First, Unfollow, News Feed Preferences and Privacy Shortcuts, to help you personalise your News Feed.

"This is the first time that we've built information on how ranking works directly into the app," Sethuraman said.

In addition, the company is also working on improving its "Why am I seeing this ad" feature which was launched in 2014," Sethuraman added.

“We’ve received valuable feedback over the years that has helped us expand the information we share with people about the ads they see.”

Ramya Sethuraman, Product Manager, Facebook

With these improvements, Facebook aims to make it easier for people to take action to arrange their News Feed according to their choice.

"Both of the updates are part of our ongoing investment in giving people more context and control across Facebook," the post noted.

(With inputs from IANS)