BACK
ELKE DIANE GENTILE
AD PREFERENCE
CONTROLS
THE PROBLEM
People using Facebook have a sense that their actions are being tracked in order to change their algorithms but they are not in the driver's seat. This leads to behaviors that send mixed signals to ranking and ends up producing a less relevant browsing experience.
There was also a concurrent issue with regulations requiring an opt in model for any sort of usage tracking so the need for explicit responsive controls was not just a single pronged issue.
THE PLAN
Alignment
Ads exist app wide so the need to cross functional alignment between every surface team, as well as with the larger design systems team, was step one.
I used a stepped approach to implementation with the focus being on high traffic areas first to refine a set of guidelines for implementation elsewhere.
Communication
Making sure teams stayed up on the progress and thinking was a large operational challenge.
In order to keep myself from having to attend endless briefing meetings, I created a microsite that outlined the reasons for the work (citing research studies we had conducted) as well as links to ongoing efforts in the project.
Partnership
I had 2 teams that I worked with very closely for this effort. First was the integrity team, which was also handling similar controls for non ad content. Second was the lager Meta ads platform which sat above all the apps and would be the layer where any feedback given could be reviewed and edited by the end user.
THE PROGRESS
Coming into this work, there were a few one off patterns that had been tested and could suit our need.
The issue was these were slated to be deprecated because they didn't work broadly enough. While they offered a space for us to get early learnings I was tasked with evolving what was promising into widely adoptable patterns.
THE PRODUCT
Early explorations really leaned into a more immersive single column layout as I was chasing the look and feel of video first experiences like Netflix and Hulu.
As things progressed the UI landed on a more flexible 2 column system to maintain consistency across the other parts of Facebook.
THE POST LAUNCH
Early explorations really leaned into a more immersive single column layout as I was chasing the look and feel of video first experiences like Netflix and Hulu.
As things progressed the UI landed on a more flexible 2 column system to maintain consistency across the other parts of Facebook.
2026 ELKE DIANE GENTILE
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