Facebook launches 'why am I seeing this post?' button that promises to tell people how things get in their news feed

Not everything will be revealed by the new button

(Getty)

Facebook is finally going to start explaining why certain posts have appeared in your feed.

The company is launching a button called "why am I seeing this post?", which should allow people to something has arrived in their news feed.

Clicking on it will show information about the various pieces of data that help Facebook decide what should show above something else. So it might indicate that you tend to engage with posts that include videos, for instance, or that many of your friends have liked a certain post.

But there are still large parts of the data that remain hidden. Facebook takes into account a huge number of different pieces of data when deciding how to order the news feed – and only a tiny number of them will be revealed by the new button.

The site has also announced an update to its advertising tools which will enable users to more transparently see how they were targeted by an advertiser on the site.

Both tools will be accessible from the drop-down menu in the top right-hand corner of any post or advert on the news feed of the social media platform.

The new news feed tab will show a user's recent activity that helped the site's algorithms reach its decision, including any links or interactions with the posting account and if they have a history of reading posts from that account.

Facebook said the new feature was designed to help users "better understand and more easily control what you see from friends, pages and groups in your news feed".

The firm also announced it was updating its similar "why am I seeing this ad?" tool so that users can see how advertisers can use existing customer lists to show adverts to people on the platform.

Advertisers are able to upload lists of existing customer information - such as email addresses or phone numbers - to help target their advertising.

Facebook said this process takes place without revealing any identifiable information but added the new tool would more clearly show how this process took place.

Ahead of the European Union elections due to take place in May, Facebook has already said any advertisers in the EU will undergo tighter checks, which will require documents confirming their identity and location to be submitted, amid fears of foreign interference.

The company said all adverts relating to politics and issues on both Facebook and Instagram in the EU must be clearly labelled, including who funded the advert.

Writing on the company's blog, Facebook product manager Ramya Sethuraman said: "Both of these updates are part of our ongoing investment in giving people more context and control across Facebook. We will continue to listen to your feedback and evolve these features over time."

The announcement follows founder and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg's acknowledgement that social media requires more regulation.

In an article published online in the Washington Post over the weekend, Mr Zuckerberg said there was a need for governments and regulators to have "a more active role" and that he believes new regulation is needed in four areas - harmful content, election integrity, privacy and data portability.

Additional reporting by Press Association