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

Meta Expands Use of Third-Party User Data Beyond Advertising

Meta announced Tuesday it will use third-party user data collected from other businesses to personalize user feeds on Facebook and Instagram, as well as tailor responses from Meta AI 1

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. The company already leverages off-platform activity data—such as games played or purchases made on external websites—for targeted advertising, but this update extends that practice to non-ad content across its platforms 2

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According to Meta's blog post, if a user recently purchased a tent online, they might see camping-related videos in their Reels feed as part of this AI personalization effort 4

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. Meta spokesperson Emil Vazquez clarified that the company previously only used activity across its own apps—such as likes, views, and follows—to tailor content, but this marks a significant expansion in how activity from other businesses shapes user experience 1

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Changes to User Privacy Controls and Settings

As part of this rollout, Meta is consolidating its data usage policies and streamlining user privacy controls. The company will discontinue the "Your activity off Meta technologies" setting, which previously allowed users to disconnect activity that businesses share with Meta from their accounts 4

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. Instead, Meta is expanding the "Activity from other businesses" setting—formerly known as "Activity information from ad partners"—to manage how data from external sources is used for personalization 2

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Users can toggle this single setting to prevent Meta from using data shared by other businesses to personalize feeds and AI responses. However, disabling this option won't stop Meta from collecting user data altogether. Businesses can still share information with Meta, and the company will continue using that data to improve its services and train Meta AI, according to its privacy policy 3

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. If users don't allow personalized content, what they see will be based solely on their activity within Meta's platforms, such as liking a reel or post 2

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Global Rollout and Regional Exclusions

The update will begin rolling out next month in the US and several other countries, though certain regions will be excluded at launch 1

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. According to Vazquez, the European region, the UK, Brazil, Thailand, South Africa, Turkey, South Korea, Ecuador, Nigeria, and Kenya will not receive these changes initially, likely due to stricter data protection regulations in those jurisdictions 1

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Implications for Sponsored Content and Future Monetization

This move could signal Meta's intention to introduce sponsored content directly within AI chats. If Meta is already using off-platform activity data to personalize AI responses, the next logical step could be offering sponsored products and services within conversations with Meta AI 3

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. The company already uses AI chat data to show targeted advertising across its platforms, and users in the UK can pay to remove ads from Facebook and WhatsApp 3

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Privacy Concerns and Regulatory History

Meta's expanded data practices arrive amid ongoing scrutiny over how the company handles user privacy. In 2019, the Federal Trade Commission fined Facebook $5 billion for consumer privacy violations, a record penalty at the time 5

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. More recently, Meta disclosed in 2024 that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau had been considering action against the company over its use of financial data from third parties in its advertising business 4

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. Meta emphasizes it's not collecting any new data as part of this update, stating this is simply about using information businesses already send to further improve user experience .