Some people may argue that it’s all standard operating procedure for companies that offer online services for “free,” with ads showing in the background of everything you do. The report explains that Facebook isn’t really forthcoming about its location tracking, nor is it willing to offer users controls that would prevent the social network from using IP addresses or Wi-Fi data to locate users. But the location-related ads keep popping up. Location tracking is turned off for all ads and she doesn’t share photos with location data on Facebook. She says Facebook can’t glean information about her from her other interactions with Facebook or its other apps, such as WhatsApp, Instagram, or Facebook Messenger. Moreover, I have noticed that whenever I travel for work or pleasure, Facebook continues to keep track of my location and use it for advertising: a trip to Glacier National Park resulted in an ad for activities in Whitefish, Montana, a trip to Cambridge, MA - in an ad for a business there, and a visit to Herzeliya, Israel - in an ad for a business there.

Even though the Location Services setting was turned to “Never” in the iPhone Facebook app, and Location History was cleared and turned off, Facebook still showed Korolova ads that matched her location. University of Southern California computer science professor Aleksandra Korolova explained how Facebook does it in great detail on Medium.

Tracking ip address on facebook