Meta announced this week that users will be able to block data sharing between Instagram and other apps. With this feature, users can select which third-party apps can send their activity to Meta. This sharing between apps is, in part, one of the factors responsible for sending personalized ads to your feed — the classic “wow, I just talked to so-and-so about this and there is already an advertisement”.
This functionality already existed for Facebook under the name “Off-Facebook Activity”. Now, with its expansion to Instagram, it is now called “Off-Meta Activity”. In direct translation, the feature is called “Non-Meta Activity”, referring to the fact that it involves data from non-Meta apps.
Meta will allow you to choose to share data between apps
With the arrival of this feature, which does not yet have a release date announced, the user will be able to choose whether or not the usage history of other apps will be shared with Facebook and Instagram. In addition to allowing the user to have more control over their data, the feature will influence the personalization of ads.
Therefore, those who turn off information sharing are likely to see more “generalist” ads that may not make sense for their consumption profile. However, Meta will continue to use your history within the company’s apps (Instagram and Facebook) to suggest ads in your feed.
As we see in the leaked image, the Off-Meta Activity function will show you which apps share data with Meta services. In the example given by the company, the apps of Airbnb, Nike and Spotify are some that send data to Instagram and Facebook.
Amendment may be related to EU legislation
Meta’s news may be a reaction by the company to European Union legislation. The economic bloc passed the Digital Markets Act (DMA), which requires large companies to be more transparent with user data and how ads are delivered.
On its website, Meta makes no reference to the DMA. However, in recent months, it has made several changes to comply with the requirements of the European Union, such as allowing WhatsApp to send and receive messages from third-party apps.
