Find your Facebook and Instagram ad controls

Open the menu on the ad itself

Start with the three-dot menu on a sponsored post or ad. Look for Why am I seeing this ad? or About this ad. Meta announced the rollout of About this ad in June 2026 as a shared destination for transparency information. Older labels and different placements can coexist during product changes.

Use the disclosure attached to the specific ad you are considering. A general preferences page can show interests or controls, but it should not be treated as a complete explanation of one impression. Keep the advertiser’s name and disclosed reasons separate from any guesses you have about a recent search or purchase.

Source: Meta: Expanding GenAI transparency for Meta’s ads products

Read categories without turning them into facts about you

Meta describes its ad explanation as covering factors that may inform its models, including activity on and off its technologies. A disclosed topic can explain a connection made by the system. It does not establish that you identify with that topic, bought a related product, or were personally chosen by the advertiser.

If the explanation mentions an audience provided by a business, note the named business. Meta has documented advertising based on uploaded customer lists. A list relationship is different from a website-visit explanation. Avoid filling in a missing visit or purchase simply because it would make the story seem complete.

Sources: Meta: Increasing our ads transparency; Meta: Understand why you’re seeing certain ads

Choose the preference that fits your goal

Follow the Ad preferences link available from the explanation, or find Ad preferences in the app’s settings or Accounts Center. Verify which account or connected accounts a control says it covers before confirming. If your screen differs, search settings for ‘Ad preferences’ and use the help attached to the control rather than following an old screenshot exactly.

For a particular advertiser, inspect the hide options offered in the ad explanation. For broader concerns, first read the available preference descriptions. Changing the way data is used and hiding an advertiser are separate goals; write your goal in a short sentence so you can tell whether the setting’s promise matches it.

Source: Meta: Increasing our ads transparency

The 2026 change to activity from other businesses

Meta announced that Activity from other businesses—previously called Activity information from ad partners—would cover personalization of ads and other content. It also announced the discontinuation of Your activity off Meta technologies. The rollout starts in selected countries, so labels and availability depend on your account’s location and rollout stage.

When inspecting this control, read the current wording about how shared activity is used. Do not treat a use preference as a promise that businesses stop sending data or that every existing record is deleted. If an older tutorial tells you to disconnect future activity through a menu you cannot find, this product change may explain the mismatch.

Source: Meta: Changes to controls for your activity from other businesses

Check the result and keep the conclusion modest

Reopen the preference after saving and confirm the displayed state. Note the control name, account, and date privately. You do not need to send AdCheckMe your account details, ad history, or a screenshot to use our explainer.

An ad that still resembles an interest does not, on its own, show that the preference failed. The next useful piece of evidence is the platform’s current explanation and the scope of the setting you changed. If no explanation is available, leave the reason unknown. If the ad is deceptive or otherwise concerning, use its reporting option rather than trying to solve its targeting first.