One of the most unsettling questions about using Facebook — which advertisers, exactly, can see your information? — is now a few clicks away.

A new feature, currently available but which Facebook has yet to formally announce, lists which advertisers have access to your contact information.

It’s easy to access. Simply go from Settings to “Download a copy of your Facebook data,” under the General tab. That sets up an option to download your entire archive of the information you’ve provided Facebook with, which it will email to you once you enter your password.

That option has been available for several months. But now, opening that archive and moving to the “Ads” menu lets you see which ads you’ve ever clicked on, plus a long list of “Advertisers with your contact info.”

Facebook’s business model rests on targeted advertising, where marketers can pay to only target people they think likely to be interested in their products. That’s based on all kinds of data that users give Facebook, such as pages they like, where they check in, and biographical information. Plenty of third-party companies traffic in people’s personal data to sell to advertisers, so the more casual a person is when sharing their personal info — say, their phone number — the more likely an advertiser will be to connect that to your Facebook profile. And websites owned by companies that want to advertise can install a specific Javascript code called Facebook pixel to connect visitors to their site with their Facebook profiles.

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http://www.vocativ.com/402720/facebook-brands-target-ads/