You’ve likely noticed the ads on Facebook (usually in the upper right-hand side of your screen) indicating that one of your friends “likes” a particular product.

Basically, Facebook allows advertisers to promote the fact that someone has “liked” their page by using the Facebook user’s name in their advertising.

That’s all well and good, and it may not bother the average user who has likely consented to the use of his or her name in the Facebook terms of service.

Using your name, however, might turn off prospective clients. Maybe the ad says you “like” Toyota, and the prospective client or referral source is a huge “Buy America” advocate. There’s no way to know what message you might inadvertently send by “liking” something and allowing Facebook to use that info in whatever way it chooses.

The good news is that you have complete control of the use of your name in the Facebook advertising. You can, and probably should, make a change to your settings so your name won’t appear in the ads.

Here’s how to do it:

1. Click on this link to Privacy Settings for the Facebook Ads. The link will take you to the settings page.

2. Click on the drop-down menu and select the option “No One” from the menu.

3. Click on the “Save Changes” button.

That’s it. Your name will no longer appear in the advertisements. Now you can “like” whatever you like and not worry about an advertiser using your name.