By Nicolas
Facebook plans to roll out a feature to allow users to see what companies track them — and to control which of that data gets shared with Facebook.
More than a year after the plan was first announced by Mark Zuckerberg at the F8 developer conference in response to the Cambridge Analytica scandal, Facebook on Tuesday formally announced the launch of its “Off-Facebook Activity” tool.
The tool will allow users to see and control the data that outside websites and apps share with Facebook to improve targeted advertising — and opt out of having it shared.
Users who access the tool through Facebook’s settings page will see a list of third-party websites — such as a clothing website — that share browsing activity with Facebook. They will then be able to opt out of future tracking, and can disconnect the data from their account.
The social media site said that if a user clears their off-Facebook activity, Facebook would remove the user’s identifying information from the data that apps and websites choose to send.
“We won’t know which websites you visited or what you did there, and we won’t use any of the data you disconnect to target ads to you on Facebook, Instagram or Messenger,” the company said in a statement.
Facebook will not, however, allow users to delete their data entirely.
Facebook said it expects this could have some impact on its business. The tech heavyweight has faced criticism from lawmakers and regulators over its privacy practices.
“I think they’re trying to stay one step ahead of the regulators,” Wedbush analyst Dan Ives tells The Post. “By making it optional, it ultimately is a low- to mid-single digit impact at most.”
“They’re making sure it’s an option, but they’re not shooting themselves in the foot,” he added.
The tool, which will rely on users to take initiative to change their settings, will only be available in Spain, Ireland and South Korea to start. It will roll out to more countries in coming months, Facebook said.
Last month the company agreed to a record-setting $5 billion privacy settlement with the US Federal Trade Commission. The settlement is awaiting court approval.
Shares of Facebook were down 0.8% Tuesday afternoon, at $184.62.
