Meta expands data usage to personalize feeds and AI responses with third-party user data

Meta will use your activity on other websites to personalize your feeds

Meta is planning to use the data shared by other businesses to personalize your feed and its AI responses. In a blog post on Tuesday, Meta explains that it already uses your off-platform activity, like the games you play or your purchases on other websites, to serve you ads. But now it's expanding the scope of the content it personalizes across Facebook and Instagram. For example, Meta says if you bought a tent online recently, you might see camping-related videos in your Reels feed. "We aren't collecting any new data as part of this update," the blog post says. "This is about using information that businesses already send to us to further improve your experience." Meta spokesperson Emil Vazquez tells The Verge that the company previously only used the activity across its apps, such as likes, views, and follows, to tailor the content you see. The company also started using conversations with its AI assistant to personalize ads last year. As part of this update, Meta is combining the options that control the company's access to off-platform data. To prevent Meta from using data shared by other businesses to personalize ads, your feeds, or AI responses, you'll just need to turn off the "Activity from other businesses" setting. Vazquez says the update is rolling out globally, but will exclude some locations at launch, including the European region, the UK, Brazil, Thailand, South Africa, Turkey, South Korea, Ecuador, Nigeria, and Kenya.

Meta to Use Off-Site Business Data for Feed and AI Personalization

Meta on Tuesday announced that it will use information shared by other businesses to personalize users' feed and responses from its artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot, expanding its scope beyond targeted ads. "Businesses often share information about people's activity on their sites with us to make ads more relevant," Meta said in a statement. "We already use this data - like games you play or purchases you make on other websites - to make the ads you see more relevant. In the future, we'll use this information to personalize other parts of your experience, including the content you see in your Feed and AI responses." The social media giant emphasized that it's not collecting any new data as part of the update, adding users are in the driver's seat and that they get to decide how this information is used for personalization. To that end, Meta is streaming its controls by expanding the "Activity from other businesses" setting (formerly "Activity information from ad partners") to better manage how data from other businesses are used for this purpose. The setting "Your activity off Meta technologies" will be discontinued. "If you allow us to use this data to show you personalized content, the ads and other content you see will be more relevant," the company said. "For example, if you've recently purchased a tent online, you might see more Reels about camping." However, if users don't allow it, the content shown will be based on other activity on its platforms, such as liking a reel or post. It's worth pointing out that businesses can also share customer lists with Meta - e.g., those that have signed up to receive emails - who are then served relevant ads. Meta said the new option allows users to manage how the data is used to serve both ads and non-ad content. The change is expected to go into effect in the U.S. and a number of other countries, including the U.K., Brazil, Thailand, South Africa, Turkey, South Korea, Ecuador, Nigeria, and Kenya, starting next month.

Meta now wants to use your activity from other websites to personalize its AI

The changes will start rolling out next month in the US and several other countries. Meta will soon start using your data from other businesses to personalize your feed and its AI responses to your queries. The company announced in a blog post that it's changing how it uses data shared by businesses (via Neowin). Right now, Meta uses your activity on third-party apps and services to show you more relevant ads on its platforms. While that in itself is something many users dislike, the company will now also use this data to personalize your feed and AI chats. The company also announced that it's changing how you manage your data. Instead of the two options available right now: "Your activity off Meta technologies" and "Activity from other businesses," it will soon only offer the "Activity from other businesses" option to users. You will still be able to use this setting to disable personalization. However, Meta clarifies that this won't stop it from collecting your data. Businesses can still share your data with Meta, and it will use that data to improve its services, per its privacy policy. Meta will simply not use this to personalize content for you. Its "services" also include Meta AI, which means your data can (and will) be used for training purposes. Additionally, this could also be a step toward the introduction of ads in AI chats. If Meta is personalizing its AI responses based on your activity outside Meta products, it could soon start using that data to offer sponsored products and services within your chats with Meta AI. The company already uses AI chats to show targeted ads across its platforms. Introducing ads within AI chats could be a natural next step. Users in the UK can already pay to get rid of ads in Facebook and WhatsApp. One can only hope that Meta expands this option to the US as well. Meta says that it's not collecting any new data as part of this change. It's just adding yet another way it will use the data it collects. That may be true, but I'm not sure if it's something to be happy about. The changes will start rolling out in the US and several other countries from next month.

Meta Says Third-Party User Data to Influence Feed, AI Responses; Alters User Controls -- 2nd Update

Meta Platforms plans to use the data it gathers from businesses to further personalize the content users see on its social-media platforms. Meta said Tuesday it would use the data that businesses already send to it, like the games users play or purchases they make on other websites, to personalize the content users see in their social-media feeds as well as for artificial-intelligence-driven responses. A user who recently purchased a tent online may see more reels about camping, for example, Meta said in a blog post. The company, which has long used data from other businesses for more targeted advertising, said it would not collect any new data as part of the update. "This is about using information that businesses already send to us to further improve your experience," the company said. Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, also utilizes users' first-party data--such as their likes, follows and views on its social media platforms--to personalize the content they see. As part of the update, Meta said it would also streamline the settings it offers that let users control how it gets and uses the data other businesses share with it. Meta said it would discontinue its "Your activity off Meta technologies" setting, meaning it will no longer allow users to disconnect activity that businesses share with the company from their account. The company said it would instead expand its "Activity from other businesses" setting, allowing users to choose whether to allow it to use that data to show more personalized content and ads. Meta said the control and data-use changes will go into effect in the U.S. and a number of other countries next month, with more countries to follow. Certain countries and regions will be excluded at launch, including Europe, the United Kingdom, Brazil, Thailand, South Africa, Turkey, South Korea, Ecuador, Nigeria, and Kenya, a Meta spokesperson said. Meta and its social-media sites have previously come under scrutiny for how they handle user privacy. In 2019, the Federal Trade Commission fined Facebook $5 billion, a record at the time, for consumer privacy violations. Meta also disclosed in 2024 that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau had been considering taking action against the company over its use of financial data from third parties in its advertising business.

Meta Says Third-Party User Data to Influence Feed, AI Responses; Alters User Controls -- Update

Meta Platforms plans to use the data it gathers from businesses to further personalize the content users see on its social-media platforms. Meta said Tuesday it would use the data that businesses already send to it, like the games users play or purchases they make on other websites, to personalize the content users see in their social-media feeds as well as for artificial-intelligence-driven responses. A user who recently purchased a tent online may see more reels about camping, for example, Meta said in a blog post. The company, which has long used data from other businesses for more targeted advertising, said it would not collect any new data as part of the update. "This is about using information that businesses already send to us to further improve your experience," the company said. As part of the update, Meta said it would also streamline the settings it offers that let users control how it gets and uses the data other businesses share with it. Meta said it would discontinue its "Your activity off Meta technologies" setting, which allows users to disconnect activity that businesses share with the company from their account. The company said it would instead expand its "Activity from other businesses" setting, allowing users to choose whether to allow it to use that data to show more personalized content and ads. Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, said the control and data-use changes will go into effect in the U.S. and a number of other countries next month, with more countries to follow. Meta and its social-media sites have previously come under scrutiny for how they handle user privacy. In 2019, the Federal Trade Commission fined Facebook $5 billion, a record at the time, for consumer privacy violations. Meta also disclosed in 2024 that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau had been considering taking action against the company over its use of financial data from third parties in its advertising business.