Facebook Off Activity Monitor

Facebook update includes off Facebook activity monitoring

Sharing is Caring

If you use the facebook app on your phone (or other device), you may have noticed a new privacy issue.

According to Facebook “Off-Facebook activity is a summary of activity that businesses and organizations share with us about your interactions, such as visiting their apps or websites.”

This project actually began in August of 2019 under a friendlier term that in the past, CEO Mark Zuckerberg has called a “Clear History” button.

Most of us are familiar with the idea of “clearing our history” as a way of doing maintenance. It is a way of clearing “cache”. Cache includes items that are temporarily stored on your device for your convenience. However, this cache takes up a lot of space over time. For example, working from home, doing internet research and the like, your cache can easily exceed over 500 MB’s per day. So It’s a good idea to “clear history” and cache every couple of weeks or so no matter how much space it is taking up. Such a convenient use of that term by Zuckerburg wouldn’t you say?

However, monitoring your Your Off-Facebook Activity is something completely different.

While Facebook has a history of not cultivating a great reputation for consumer privacy, see here for more, this feature is pretty concerning if security and privacy are important to you.

Zuckerburg has said “Other businesses send us information about your activity on their sites and we use that information to show you ads that are relevant to you.” But is it just for the purpose of advertising? We will let you decide that, but here is the concept in simple terms.

Facebook Off Activity Monitor Sample
off Facebook activity monitoring sample

So based on this idea, data shared with Facebook could include your banking information, your emails, your text messages and so much more. Again, they have already been busted for doing just that and more.

There is a reason that their stock value is so high and it is called Data Mining. When something is free, that often means that you are the product. Facebook, Twitter, and others are not the only ones that have pushed the envelope to the extent that our personal data has become a product. However, social media giants keep pushing because they have all simply been allowed to do so.

How to disable off Facebook activity monitoring

Go to Settings and Privacy
Go to Settings

Scroll down and go to “Your Facebook Information” Section

Click on Off Facebook Activity

From here you can Clear the history of Data already there.

You can click on Manage Your Off-Facebook Activity button.

Disable Off Facebook Activity Monitor for Future use

For now, click the More Options Section followed by clicking Manage Future Activity. Then Click Manage Future Activity on the bottom (a lot of clicking to get here so far huh? Still think its for your convenience?)

On Future Off-Facebook Activity, slide the blue button to the left to disable.

A confirmation screen will appear and select Turn Off.

They do tell you on that confirmation screen that they will still receive activity though. However, you have to trust them that the data will be disconnected from your account. Hmmm…

Disable Off Facebook Activity Monitor Confirmation Screen

Note, the same settings exist in the desktop version of facebook.com.

This activity monitor does not solely exist on the mobile application only. Regardless of how you get to Facebook, check the settings.

UPDATE, February 4, 2021

Tim Cook (Apple CEO) tore into Facebook during a speech he gave this week at the Computers, Privacy and Data Protection conference.

  • “We can no longer turn a blind eye to a theory of technology that says all engagement is good engagement,” he said. A company like that, he said, “does not deserve our praise, it deserves reform.”
  • Lest you say, “well, maybe he didn’t mean Facebook!” I present to you the example from Apple’s Privacy Day blog post, showing the tracking notifications Apple’s planning to start showing. It’s not your standard fake-app-with-a-silly-name, it’s Facebook.
  • Apple’s case against Facebook, grossly oversimplified, goes like this: Facebook collects a massive trove of data far greater than people understand or Facebook requires, and uses it to invade and monetize every part of users’ lives. That is a bad thing, and as a device and OS maker Apple is correctly positioned to solve it.

pet supplements for dogs and cats 300 x 250