Abstract: Advertisement content presented to a user of an online system is presented along with an option allowing the user to view one or more reasons for presentation of the advertisement content to the user. If the user selects the option, based on targeting criteria associated with the advertisement content and characteristics associated with the user, the online system selects one or more characteristics of the user satisfying the targeting criteria and presents a description to the user identifying the selected one or more characteristics satisfying the targeting criteria. The online system may apply one or more rules based on user perception of characteristics when selecting the one or more characteristics included in the description. An option for the user to prevent use of the selected one or more characteristics when the online system subsequently selects advertisement content for the user is also presented with the description.

Abstract: An online services system includes a mechanism for providing user confidence information to an external data consumer, and for determining user contribution quality. Using stored information about user actions and interactions, user confidence is evaluated for one or more parameters associated with the validity of the user's account and/or quality of the user's contributions to the online services system. Confidence values are assigned to each parameter, and the values are exposed to external data consumers. Using stored information, user actions and interactions are correlated with contribution quality to produce a metric indicative of user contribution quality. Users with low quality parameter metrics may have their contributions shown to a smaller audience or have a lower prominence in a news feed.

Abstract: Technology for providing reporting options specific for a market or a common user attribute is disclosed herein. A computer server of a social networking system determines multiple community standards for a group of users of a social networking system, wherein the group of users have a common user attribute such as a common market. The computer server receives a request for reporting a content object in the social networking system from a user among the group of users. The computer server determines multiple reporting options based on the community standards, and transmits the reporting options to the user in response to the request.

Abstract: In particular embodiments, a user associated with a user account wishes to utilize their computing device to facilitate authentication of their identity. The user may provide a device key to an online system hosting the user account, wherein the device key uniquely identifies their computing device. The device key may be based on a device identifier encoded in hardware of the computing device. The online system may then store the device key in association with the user account. Subsequently, if an action related to the online system requires authentication, the user may be asked to provide authentication using their computing device. The user generates an authentication code using their device, which can be entered by the user into a user interface for comparison against an authentication code generated using the device key stored by the online system.

Abstract: Particular embodiments may receive and log information related to one or more events occurring on one or more client computing devices associated with a user. An event may comprise a restriction of a user action on a social-networking system, the restriction comprising the social-networking system blocking the user from performing the user action. An event may comprise a login issue associated with logging in to the social-networking system. An event may comprise a system or device error. System errors may comprise events originating from a third-party system. For each event, an indication of the event and at least one user-activatable reference may be provided for display to the user. A control action may then be determined for the event in response to a user selection of the user-activatable reference. An interface may provide third parties with a view of a user's events as well as functionality to effect control actions.

Abstract: An online system determines whether a request for creating a session with the online system is suspicious. The online system associates a user account with a mobile key of a mobile device and geographical locations of the mobile device. The mobile key comprises unique identifier of the mobile device that is permanently stored on the mobile device. Upon receiving a request to create a session for the user account, the online system compares information associated with the user request with information describing the mobile device. For example, information associated with the user request can be a location determined by mapping internet protocol addresses obtained from the request. The online system determines whether the request is suspicious based on the comparison. If the online system determines that the request is suspicious, the online system may require enhanced authentication before granting the request.

Abstract: In one embodiment, a method includes receiving from a mobile device of a user configuration data of the mobile device. The configuration data identifies one or more characteristics of the mobile device. The method also includes determining a group of users of the social-networking system based at least in part on the configuration data. Each user in the group of users uses a mobile device having similar configuration data as the mobile device of the user. The method also includes providing user-assistance information associated with the group of users to the user.

Abstract: In one embodiment, a method includes accessing one or more short-message service (SMS) messages received at the first mobile device from a server of a verification authority; automatically and without manual user input, processing by the application data in the SMS messages to detect a particular bit sequence; and automatically and without manual user input, transmitting the information of the first user to the verification authority from the first mobile device in response to detecting the particular bit sequence.

Abstract: An online services system includes a mechanism for providing user confidence information to an external data consumer, and for determining user contribution quality. Using stored information about user actions and interactions, user confidence is evaluated for one or more parameters associated with the validity of the user's account and/or quality of the user's contributions to the online services system. Confidence values are assigned to each parameter, and the values are exposed to external data consumers. Using stored information, user actions and interactions are correlated with contribution quality to produce a metric indicative of user contribution quality. Users with low quality parameter metrics may have their contributions shown to a smaller audience or have a lower prominence in a news feed.

Abstract: An online services system includes a mechanism for providing user confidence information to an external data consumer, and for determining user contribution quality. Using stored information about user actions and interactions, user confidence is evaluated for one or more parameters associated with the validity of the user's account and/or quality of the user's contributions to the online services system. Confidence values are assigned to each parameter, and the values are exposed to external data consumers. Using stored information, user actions and interactions are correlated with contribution quality to produce a metric indicative of user contribution quality. Users with low quality parameter metrics may have their contributions shown to a smaller audience or have a lower prominence in a news feed.

Abstract: A social networking system performs account recovery for a user with the help of the user's connections (e.g., friends). The social networking system selects connections of the user based on information indicating likelihood of real-world interactions between the user and the selected connections. Access codes are sent to the selected connections and the user instructed to obtain access codes from the selected connections via a communication that is outside the social networking system, for example, via phone. The user provides the access codes obtained from the selected connections to the social networking system. If the access codes provided by the user match the access codes sent to the selected connections, the user is granted access to the account. Real-world interactions between two users are determined based on sharing of devices between the users or information indicating presence of the users in the same place during same time interval.

Abstract: A social networking system performs account recovery for a user with the help of the user's connections (e.g., friends). The social networking system selects connections of the user based on information indicating likelihood of real-world interactions between the user and the selected connections. Access codes are sent to the selected connections and the user instructed to obtain access codes from the selected connections via a communication that is outside the social networking system, for example, via phone. The user provides the access codes obtained from the selected connections to the social networking system. If the access codes provided by the user match the access codes sent to the selected connections, the user is granted access to the account. Real-world interactions between two users are determined based on sharing of devices between the users or information indicating presence of the users in the same place during same time interval.