Facebook gives users access to data about the use of other websites

Facebook gives users the option to see what information the social network has about the use of other websites. Users can also immediately remove that data from their account. They will then no longer see personalized advertisements.

Facebook is now making the tool available to all users worldwide. The company introduced Off Facebook Activity last August, but only to users in Ireland, Spain and South Korea. With the tool, users can see in a tab which data about activities outside Facebook is linked to the Facebook account. This can be, for example, visited websites that have a Like button with a tracker or where you are logged in with Facebook Login. Users can not only view that data, but also delete it from their account. This means that Facebook no longer knows which websites a user has visited, and that the social network on Facebook and Instagram does not show personalized advertisements based on that data. The data remains with the websites themselves.

Facebook says in a blog post that it is making the new tool available in honor of International Privacy Day, Tuesday. For the same reason, the company is going to show all users a prompt asking them to review their privacy settings. The company is also rolling out the new notifications for Facebook Logins. In addition, a user receives a notification via email and the app when he logs in via Facebook Login. The company introduced the feature as a beta earlier this month.