Facebook will roll out new features for certain advertisers next week, allowing them to target their ads based on data such as users' email addresses and phone numbers, according to a report from TechCrunch. First spotted by Inside Facebook, the new functionality requires advertisers to upload their own in-house customer lists, letting them match the lists against data from user profiles. Facebook has been quick to point out that the features don't give advertisers access to any more information than they already have.
Lists can be uploaded in plain text or CSV format, with the data being hashed before it's stored on Facebook's servers. Previously available to a small subset of users in a private testing phase, the features will soon be rolled out to all users with access to Facebook Premium, the social network's top-tier advertising package.