Thanks to a recent update, Facebook and Instagram users can now link their profiles to their personal ones Amazon accounts and do some online shopping on the social media websites.
The update comes as part of an apparent new partnership between Instagram and Facebook parent company Meta and Amazon, but neither company has made a formal announcement letting everyone know about the changes. It appears it was first ‘leaked’ by Maurice Rahmey, co-CEO of Disruptive Digital, who shared his findings on LinkedIn. He states that Meta will use the information obtained from Amazon to show users products that may interest them. If a user has an Amazon Prime membership, he or she will receive tailored ads with additional details, such as “real-time pricing (plus) store estimates.” An Amazon representative said TechCrunch customers even see specific details about a product and whether or not they qualify for Prime benefits.
There are some limitations to the feature. It will only show “select products” on Meta’s platforms, but the products won’t be limited to just what Amazon sells on its store. You will also see independent sellers. Please note that this update is only available to people in the United States.
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It’s unclear if the Amazon ads are currently live.
At the time of writing, we have not encountered any changes to our personal Facebook and Instagram accounts. We were also unable to link our Meta profiles to the shopping platform. This seemed strange at first because both Maurice Rahmey and TechCrunch have videos on their respective posts revealing what the ads look like. They even show you how to purchase a product from one of them. Additionally, Rahmey claimed on his LinkedIn post that the refresh had “just rolled out,” so we should have encountered them.
We approached both companies to ask when people will see the advertisements. An Amazon spokesperson told us they are “available on a growing number” of products, which we believe means the patch is slowly making its way to users. Over time you should see them popping up. It is unknown if there are plans to expand this partnership outside the United States.
Both brands remained silent when we asked this question. It probably won’t happen in Europe. The Irish Data Protection Commission recently “banned Meta’s social media platforms from using targeted advertising” across the European Economic Area. This includes all EU countries, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.
Check out Ny Breaking’s list of the best Amazon Black Friday deals for 2023.