Facebook's Atlas: Ads Tracking You Cross-Device

The advertisement business is big. Google has cashed in with AdSense in a major way in the recent past, and Facebook wants a piece of their pie. To grab said action, Facebook is releasing Atlas, a system that aims to "track people instead of cookies" both on the desktop platform and on mobile devices.

Where the old wave of advertisers have generally failed at providing real results for mobile advertisement tracking, Facebook suggests they'll succeed with Atlas. They're using Facebook accounts – not cookies – to track people.

Because they've got such a massive network already in place, Facebook is able help companies target users across the web. Not just on Facebook, but on the massive number of websites that integrate Facebook shares and Facebook logins into their websites.

What does this mean for you, the consumer? Not a whole lot. You'll be tracked just like you have been tracked for the past decade. You might find yourself purchasing more products in the near future without knowing exactly why – don't worry. That's just Facebook's Atlas hard at work.

We'll be investigating more on what Atlas can do and what Facebook is doing with the data you've given them in the near future. The Atlas Solutions homepage is up and running now – see if you can figure out the web of information Facebook has built.