Facebook's Off-Facebook Activity tool is now available to everyone

[harlan4096]

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced today that a new privacy tool called Off-Facebook Activity is now available to Facebook users around the globe.

Designed to improve transparency, Off-Facebook Activity provides information about data that third-party businesses share with Facebook. Facebook uses the provided information to show advertisement to its users, for suggestions, e.g. groups or businesses, or to help organizations "understand how their website, app, or ads are performing".

The tool provides a summary of the information and an option to clear it from the Facebook account.

Off-Facebook Activity should be available in desktop and mobile versions of Facebook. Facebook users need to open the Settings of the service and select "Your Facebook Information" from the left column and then "Off-Facebook Activity" on the page that opens.

Tip: you can open the page directly as well using this link: https://www.facebook.com/off_facebook_activity/

A click on the link opens a summary and information. It starts with a list of companies or applications that shared data with Facebook. These are just examples and may not reflect the full list of companies and apps that shared data with Facebook.

The page provides an explanation that includes an example

1. Jane buys a pair of shoes from an online clothing and shoe store.
2. The store shares Jane's activity with us using our business tools.
3. We receive Jane's off-Facebook activity and we save it with her Facebook account. The activity is saved as "visited the Clothes and Shoes website" and "made a purchase".
4. Jane sees an ad on Facebook for a 10% off coupon on her next shoe or clothing purchase from the online store.

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