Facebook app reveals what the social media giant is doing with your data

Have you ever felt like Facebook was stalking you by showing scarily specific ads?

Well, now the social media giant has finally come clean, revealing what it really knows about its users and how.

Privacy concerns regarding Facebook’s data use came to a head in 2018, which it emerged data firm Cambridge Analytica had harvested personal information from as many as 87 million Facebook users without their knowledge.

Following the backlash, the company promised to do better by upping its user privacy.

Targetting ads

Facebook has launched the “Off-Facebook Activity” tracker, which lets you see which apps, businesses and websites are sharing your information with the social network.

Many companies track what people do online and share that information with Facebook, to target adverts at them.

The new tool lets users “clear” this “off-Facebook activity” data from their account and opt-out of the information being used for targeted advertising.

How to use Off Facebook Activity tool

  1. Go to Facebook settings and select ‘Your Facebook Information’
  2. Click on the ‘Off Facebook Activity’ option
  3. You will notice a banner with a preview of some of the websites and apps that Facebook knows you have used
  4. Tap on one to expand to the full list
  5. Click on the ‘Clear History’ option to delete the information saved with Facebook.