Off-Facebook Activity: Who Shares Your Data With Meta
Many apps and websites tell Meta what you do on them. The old Off-Facebook Activity tool showed it. It has been replaced by a weaker setting.
By Siddharth ShankarUpdated October 21, 2026Off-Facebook Activity launched in 2019 and let you disconnect data that apps and websites sent to Meta. Meta later renamed it Your activity off Meta technologies, and then announced it would be replaced by Activity from other businesses. The new control decides whether Meta uses that activity to personalise ads and content, but does not stop businesses sending it or Meta keeping it. Find it under Your information and permissions in your account settings.
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When you shop, read news or use an app, the site may share a signal with Meta, the owner of Facebook and Instagram. This data is used to target ads. The control for it has changed names and scope.
What Off-Facebook Activity was
Per a report by TBreak, Off-Facebook Activity launched in September 2019 in the US and reached users worldwide in January 2020. It let you disconnect data that apps and websites sent to Meta and remove identifying information, so Meta would not use it for ad targeting. Meta later renamed it Your activity off Meta technologies.
What replaced it
The report says Meta announced on June 9 that it would discontinue that setting and replace it in July with Activity from other businesses, in the US and a number of other countries. It was described as streamlining two overlapping settings into one.
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What the new control does
The new control lets you decide whether Meta uses off-platform activity to personalise ads and content. According to the report, it does not stop Meta from receiving or retaining that data. Meta’s support note says that regardless of your choice, businesses may still send your activity, and Meta may anonymise it or use it to improve its products.
The report calls this a weaker control than the old one, which could disconnect and anonymise the data.
How to find the setting
Open your account settings and go to Your information and permissions. The old control was in the same place. Menus change, so look for the label Activity from other businesses or Your activity off Meta technologies.
What you can do
1Open the setting
Go to Your information and permissions in your Facebook account settings.
2Turn off personalisation from this activity
Choose the option that stops using it for ads where available.
3Review the apps and sites
Where the list is shown, note which businesses send data.
4Limit what you give away
Decline unnecessary tracking prompts in apps.
5Repeat for each account
Check Instagram and any other Meta accounts too.
Why ads follow you
When you view a product on one site and then see it as an ad on Facebook or Instagram, a business has likely told Meta about your visit. The business may do this through code on its site or app. It is one reason ad profiles can feel uncomfortably accurate.
What to do on the app side
On your phone, check which apps have permission to track you across other companies’ apps and sites, and say no where you can. Combined with the Meta setting, that cuts down the flow of data at both ends.
Why this matters beyond ads
Data about the sites and apps you use can reveal health concerns, finances, interests and relationships. Even when it is used only for advertising, it feeds a profile that you cannot easily see. Limiting it protects you from unwanted inferences and from data that might leak.
Ask for your own data
Meta also lets you download a copy of the information it holds about your account, and you can request deletion of your account if you decide to leave. Looking at the download shows how much your activity says about you, and gives you a clear basis for deciding which settings to change.
Beyond Meta settings
Settings only limit use inside Meta. To reduce what is collected in the first place, block trackers and limit sharing. See tracking cookies and how to block them, Global Privacy Control and browser fingerprinting.
For your wider Facebook settings, read how to make Facebook private.
Sources
- TBreak: Meta replaces Off-Facebook Activity with a weaker control (history, replacement by Activity from other businesses, what it does and does not do, location of setting)
Frequently asked questions
What was Off-Facebook Activity?
A tool that let you see and disconnect data that apps and websites sent to Meta.
What replaced it?
Meta announced a replacement called Activity from other businesses.
Does the new setting stop data collection?
No. It controls whether Meta uses it for personalisation, but businesses may still send it and Meta may keep it.
Where do I find it?
In your account settings under Your information and permissions.
How else can I reduce tracking?
Block trackers in your browser, use Global Privacy Control and limit app permissions.
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