How To Check Which Websites Share Your Data With Instagram And Facebook: Check This Simple Step-By-Step Guide

Every time you browse an online store, search for a product, or install a new app, chances are that activity doesn’t stay limited to that platform. Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, collects signals from outside its own apps to better understand what users do online. The US-based tech giant says this data helps personalise content and show relevant ads, but for many users, it also raises obvious privacy questions. The good part is that Meta does allow people to see, manage and even disconnect this tracking. Here’s how it works and what you can do about it.What Is ‘Your Activity Off Meta Technologies’?Meta uses a feature called Your activity off Meta technologies to track interactions that happen beyond Facebook and Instagram.

This includes information shared by websites, apps and businesses when you visit their pages, open their apps, search for items, or complete purchases.For example, if you browse shoes on an e-commerce website, that store may share your activity with Meta. Facebook or Instagram could then use that data to show you ads related to footwear. Meta says the data is used for ad measurement, personalisation and improving user experience.How To See Which Websites Are Sharing Your DataBoth Facebook and Instagram offer access to this information through the Meta Accounts Centre.On Facebook, users can tap their profile icon, go to Settings & privacy, then Settings. From there, they need to open Accounts Centre, select Your information and permissions and then tap on Your activity off Meta technologies.Instagram users can follow a similar route. After opening the app or website, they need to tap the profile icon, open the menu, head to Settings, then Accounts Centre. From there, the same Your activity off the Meta technologies section shows which businesses and apps have shared data recently.How To Disconnect Or Clear Tracked ActivityOnce inside the Off-Meta activity section, users can take several actions. Individual businesses can be disconnected one by one, stopping future data sharing from that source. There’s also an option to disconnect multiple entities at once.If someone wants a clean slate, Meta allows users to clear all past activity. This removes previously collected information from their account, though Meta notes that some data may still be used in an aggregated or anonymised form.How To Stop Future TrackingMeta also provides a setting to disconnect future activity entirely. Turning this on prevents businesses from automatically sharing new activity data with Facebook and Instagram. This can slightly affect ad relevance, but it gives users more control over how much external data feeds into their profile.Downloading Your Off-Meta DataUsers who want a deeper look can export their Off-Meta information. Through the Export your information option in Accounts Centre, users can download a file containing data shared by external websites and apps. The export can be saved locally or sent to cloud services like Google Drive or Dropbox.Once downloaded, the data appears in an organised folder, making it easier to review what kind of information has been collected over time.