Facebook says its Off-Facebook Activity tool, which lets users clear all the data passed onto Facebook by other apps and sites, is now available globally
The new ‘Off-Facebook Activity’ tool reminds us we're living in a reality TV program where the cameras are always on.
Washington PostGeoffrey Fowler
Context & Ripple Effects
Facebook has taken the tool it previewed in 2018 alongside its bulk removal of third-party apps and made Off-Facebook Activity available worldwide, letting users see which apps and sites have passed data to Facebook and sever those connections. The rollout lands amid a familiar pattern: BuzzFeed News called Facebook's earlier in-app activity dashboard window dressing rather than an overhaul, and Gizmodo reports this new tool only breaks the link between third-party data and your account — it does not delete the underlying data.
That gap between what the control promises and what it does is the story. It follows Facebook's post-Onavo pivot to releasing Study From Facebook with claims of greater transparency, and precedes Privacy International's finding that Facebook's Download Your Information tool returns an incomplete list of advertisers who hold user data.
First-order effects
Users worldwide can now view and disconnect the activity other apps and sites share with Facebook, but per Gizmodo's reporting the data itself stays with Facebook — only its association with their account is cleared.
Second-order effects
Advertisers and app developers that depend on off-Facebook signals for targeting and measurement face eroded match rates as more users exercise the disconnection option at scale.
Third-order effects
If each new control manages connections rather than deletes data, regulators and auditors are pushed toward defining what 'clear' must actually mean — a pressure already visible in Privacy International's findings about incomplete advertiser disclosures in Facebook's own download tools.
The trend: Platform privacy controls are converging on connection management over true data deletion, with independent audits increasingly exposing the gap between the two.
How does Facebook stalk you IRL? Let us count the ways: - FB knows when I open my Ring app to answer the door - FB knows when I buy a cup of coffee at Peet's - FB knows when I click on my Home Depot shopping cart See for yourself: https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ... #DataPrivacyD…
New @washingtonpost: Celebrate #DataPrivacyDay by terrifying yourself. Peek at out your new “Off-Facebook Acitivy” page to see all the ways Facebook stalks you — even when you're not using Facebook. My results were 🍌🍌: https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...
To see this, go to Settings>>Your Facebook Information>>Off-Facebook Activity. You can also clear your history and manage future activity. Facebook will now show you exactly how it stalks you — even when you're not using Facebook https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...
Is Facebook listening to you? Why bother — it's already stalking you. See for yourself all the ways Facebook tracks you even when the app is closed. Even when your phone is off. https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ... #DataPrivacyDay2020
We're sending reminders to nearly 2 billion people to review their privacy settings on @facebook. Also, now everyone can manage their info off FB using our new OFA tool. More here: https://about.fb.com/... #DataPrivacyDay
“The ‘Off-Facebook Activity’ tracker will show you 180 days' worth of the data Facebook collects about you from the many organizations and advertisers in cahoots with it.” https://twitter.com/...
“This page, buried behind lots of settings menus, is the product of a promise CEO Mark Zuckerberg made during the height of the *2018* Cambridge Analytica scandal to provide ways we can ‘clear the history’ in our accounts.” (Emphasis mine.) https://twitter.com/...