Big Tech giant Meta’s Facebook has admitted that the social media platform has been tracking the links of every single website that its users have visited.
Just like the rest of Big Tech, Facebook has historically made a great effort to track users across the internet.
This effort persists even when users are not logged into the platform.
The tracking is for data collecting and, ultimately, monetary reasons.
Now, reports say that Facebook has been collecting even more user data as a new way to achieve this.
The tracking of users’ website visits was revealed in a new update that was recently launched by Facebook.
The update allows users to “opt out” of the tracking.
Giving users the option to opt out of the tracking appears to be a policy requirement that the company is legally required to make.
Notably, however, this is the first time this type of tracking is made visible.
Called Link History, the new feature is found in the Facebook app as essentially one of the permissions, and “documents” every link a user clicks while using the app.
Once again, fully in vein of what Google, Microsoft, etc., are doing, Facebook says the change – putting all links in one place – is there for better user experience, and again habitually, while the feature is not mandatory, it is there by default and “hiding” behind a pretty solid wall of an “opt-out.”
Whatever the case may be, most users don’t bother jumping over that wall, allowing corporations to at once offer a choice – and in most cases have it their way.
In order to deactivate this on their app, users first need to be aware Link History exists.
They would then need to navigate to the appropriate setting in order to “opt out.”
This latest move has been met with widespread backlash from critics raising concerns from the privacy point of view.
Many argue that this should be viewed as part of the big political picture as Facebook, and its sister platform Instagram, remain among the most influential social media.
It is especially important as the critical 2024 election draws near.
The platform’s users should rightfully be questioning Facebook’s persistent motivation for pursuing cross-site user tracking.
Meanwhile, Facebook, nor its parent company Meta, appear to be pretending that its tracking efforts are intended to benefit users.
A part of Link History’s announcement spells this out:
“When you allow link history, we may use your information to improve your ads across Meta technologies.”
What the statement doesn’t clarify is if any of the well-known, ultra-invasive methods it uses to track users will actually change in any way with the introduction of Link History.
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