Every day, millions of users from all over the world connect to Facebook for various reasons: to entertain themselves, to interact with other people, to promote their business, to find inspiration for their hobbies and much more. Facebook collects information and data about them, monitoring their behaviors and identifying what interests them most or fits their tastes.
However, this tracking, it is not limited to the actions carried out on the platform but, if you do not take specific protections for your privacy, it also proceeds during other activities carried out online, when the user browses other websites or uses other applications.
This activity allows Facebook to offer increasingly precise content and adsand this is not necessarily a disadvantage or a negative element, but if you wish to block this tracking and preserve your privacy, you can activate settings and control in detail which information to share with the social network and which to remain confidential.
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1. Off-Facebook Tracking: What it is and how it works
When surfing the net, companies and organizations can use tools made available by Facebook to track users’ behavior online, even when they are not using social networks. The operation of this mechanism is similar to what happens with the browsing history on Google is tracked and shared with third-party websites and applications. The user is never invisible, except when he uses ad hoc tools to surf the web incognito or virtual private networks (VPN) to prevent his IP address from being tracked.
In the case of Facebook, however, the social network offers companies and organizations information specific tools for online user trackingsuch as Facebook Login or Facebook pixels.
Il Facebook Login it is easy to recognise: think of game applications for smartphones and tablets, or websites, which require you to log in to your Facebook account to continue with your browsing session. By using your Facebook account, you will give the social network and the site, or app, the opportunity to share your information.
I’m another business i pixel di Facebook, i.e. portions of code that are applied on a website to measure the effectiveness of an advertisement. The user who visits the website is intercepted by the Facebook pixel, which will then use the information obtained to show personalized advertisements nel social network.
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2. Off-Facebook activity: how it works
The Off-Facebook Activity tool was introduced by the social network in 2019 and was subsequently modified, allowing to manage activities outside of Meta. It offers an important feature to preserve user privacy. Companies and organizations that use tracking tools such as Facebook Login or Facebook pixels are recorded in a special register, similar to Google’s history, which the user can access for manage your settings own privacy.
Tracking activity outside of Metatherefore also from Facebook, can be deactivated at any timethrough function Manage the future business. Alternatively, you can unlink your account from past off-Facebook activity.
When you disable future activity out of Meta technologies, the activity is disconnected within 48 hours of the request. Some ads from companies that have taken advantage of this option may remain visible for a short period, while others will be based exclusively on activity on Facebook.
I know yes detach history of previous activities, you may experience a disconnection from apps and websites.
Whether you disconnect future activity or activity that occurred in the pastthe amount of ads that are shown remains the samebut they will be less personalized.
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3. How to manage the future business outside of Meta technologies
To manage future activity outside Meta and Facebook, both from a smartphone and a computer, log in to the social network and access the settings. click on See more in the Account Management Center and select the Your information and permissions item.
Press on Your business outside of Meta technologies and then up Manage future activity. Click on Detach future activity.
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4. How to unlink previous activity
To disconnect the previous activity go to Facebook Settings and then, to the Account Management Center. Click on the entry Your information and permissions. Select the item Your business outside of Meta technologies.
Click on Unlink previous activityconfirm your intention on Disconnect and conclude by choosing Unlink tasks.
To know more: Guide on Facebook, Meta’s social network