Facebook is expanding its ad network beyond its own platform.
Facebook’s announcement stated that starting now it is extending its ad network to third-party mobile applications and websites. With this, Facebook ads will now be visible to not just users who have logged into their accounts, but to anyone who has ever visited its website.
While the move is set to increase ad visibility far beyond the original reach of its platform, the Menlo Park-based company said the changes to its Facebook Audience Network, which uses cookies to track user activity, won’t come at the cost of disregarding its customers’ preferences.
The company is allowing its users to opt out of seeings ads on other apps and websites that are not offered by Facebook based on their ad preferences. Users can make changes in their Facebook account settings or by tapping the AdChoices icon next to an Audience Network ad.
Facebook currently extends its advertising services to over 1.6 billion users through its Audience Network, the extension of which signals its plan to further monetize its network base.
In its first quarter this year, the company saw over 80 percent of its $5.20 billion revenue come from mobile ads, according to Reuters. The company is now also advancing its video advertising business.