Topline
Instagram users can now turn off the app’s ability to track what other apps and websites they use, and can see and manage which companies are collecting their data, Meta announced Tuesday.
TURKEY – 2021/10/08: In this photo illustration the Instagram and facebook logos are seen displayed … [+]
Key Facts
Meta is expanding its Activity Off-Meta Technologies control—which was previously only available for Facebook users—to Instagram so users can manage how their data collected by other businesses is connected to their account.
Users can see the businesses, disconnect specific businesses to personalize their online experience, or completely clear the collected data.
The feature is located in Instagram’s Accounts Center, where they can also now download information, like their photos, from both Facebook and Instagram at the same time or separately.
Meta also expanded its Transfer Your Information control to Instagram so users can easily transfer their photos and videos elsewhere such as to third-party services.
Key Background
Meta updated the Accounts Center in January, putting the settings page for Instagram, Facebook, and Messenger all in the same place. Also in January, Meta launched a new ad distribution system for US users after it reached a settlement with the US Department of Justice over a lawsuit from the Department of Housing and Urban Development that claimed Meta’s ad system let advertisers exclude certain groups from housing marketing campaigns. In August, the company proposed giving users in the European Union an opt-in opt-out choice for receiving targeted ads in response to pressure from the EU’s privacy regulators.
Further Reading
Instagram Paying $68.5 Million To Illinois Users In Latest Big Biometric Privacy Settlement (Forbes)
What Meta’s $1.3 Billion Fine Means For Threads And For Organizations When It Comes To Data Protection (Forbes)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/britneynguyen/2023/10/17/instagram-users-can-now-block-the-app-from-tracking-what-they-do-online/