Social networking giant Facebook has always been under the scrutiny due to its privacy loopholes. Not many are aware that the social network tracks the users even when they are not online, like the products that they shop for, political candidates that you donate to and other similar things with the help of tools like Facebook Pixel which is a small piece of code that is deposited on millions of websites across the internet.
The social network uses such information to target the users with personalized ads, which is a business model that is now worth billions of dollars. But now that model has come under the scrutiny as many of the privacy advocates and lawmakers continue to question why anyone should trust Facebook with their data. Last year it was the Cambridge Analytica scandal that made news and later the social network assured that users would soon have more control over their information with the help of the “Clear History” tool. It would delete the off-platform browsing records of people.
Now more than a year later, the company has announced that it is rolling out the new feature which is now called the ‘Off-Facebook Activity’. People in Ireland, Spain and South Korea will have access to the long awaited tool first and will be gradually rolled out in the upcoming months to all the Facebook users.
The new feature will give the users a summary of the third party websites and apps that share your visit history with Facebook and will allow the users to clear them. The users can also choose not to allow Facebook to use their browsing history for personalized advertising in future including Messenger and Instagram. Chief Privacy Officer at Facebook Erin Egan and director of product management David Baser noted in a blog post that the new tool can have some impact on the business of the social network but giving people control over their data is also more important.
Photo Credits: Buzzfeednews
