Facebook starts offering ads in other apps

Facebook opened the doors of its Audience Network advertising service on Tuesday. The service allows mobile app makers to display Facebook ads; the social network thus competes with Google and Apple, among others.

Facebook announced in May that the company would come up with its own advertising network, but the doors have now really been opened, the company has announced. Third-party app developers can now add code to their apps to allow Facebook to serve ads. This puts Facebook in competition with, among others, Apple and Google, which also have mobile advertising platforms.

Advertisers have to check the box if they want to show their ads in apps as well. Facebook promises advertisers “the same targeting as Facebook,” but it’s unclear whether the company uses the information it has collected through Facebook accounts. Thanks to the unique identifiers of Android and iOS phones, the company would be able to do that, although they can easily be turned off on iOS.

Last week, Facebook announced that the social network also wants to use the knowledge it has of its visitors to serve ads on other websites. Facebook daughter Instagram will also participate in this.