Social media users not wanting to leave a history of online usage can now turn off the Instagram’s ability to track what other apps and websites they use, and can see and manage which companies are collecting their data, Meta has announced earlier this week.
Meta will now let you block Instagram from collecting your data across the apps and websites you visit. The company has started allowing users to review which businesses are sharing information with Meta, disconnect specific activity, as well as clear the collected information.
The move, which has been welcomed by users sharing the news online, comes as a new report suggests Meta may move to a subscription model in Europe to avoid the EU entanglements around advertising and privacy; according to the New York Times, the “pay to play” model would apply to Facebook and Instagram, but not WhatsApp.
How to block Instagram from tracking what you do online
To find and enable the Activity Off-Meta Technologies, you can access Accounts Center on Instagram by heading to Settings and privacy and selecting Accounts Center. This menu is also present on Facebook and Messenger.
Previously it was available only for Facebook. Meta receives information from third-party websites that use its business tools, such as the Meta Pixel, which tracks users on the web and allows Meta to serve personalized ads on its platforms.
Meta also announced a few other features coming to the Accounts Center, including a way to transfer your photos and videos from Instagram to other services. Additionally, you can now download information from both your Facebook and Instagram accounts at the same time. Meta previously only let you download information separately, which you can still choose to do.
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