Social media giant **Meta** announced a significant expansion in how it utilizes data shared by other businesses. Historically, this information, detailing user activity on external sites, was primarily employed to refine targeted advertising. Moving forward, **Meta** will leverage this same data to personalize a broader spectrum of user experiences, including content displayed in the **Facebook** Feed and the responses generated by its artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot. "Businesses often share information about people's activity on their sites with us to make ads more relevant," **Meta** stated. "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."  ### User Control and Data Management **Meta** emphasized that this update does not involve collecting new data. Instead, it recontextualizes the application of existing data. The company also highlighted that users retain control over how this information is used for personalization. To facilitate this, **Meta** is streamlining its privacy controls. The existing "Activity from other businesses" setting, previously known as "Activity information from ad partners," will be expanded to provide more granular management over how third-party data contributes to personalization. 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 explained. "For example, if you've recently purchased a tent online, you might see more Reels about camping." Conversely, if users opt out of this broad personalization, content will be tailored based solely on their activity within **Meta's** platforms, such as liking a Reel or post. It's important to note that businesses can still share user information, for instance, email sign-ups, which may then be used for relevant advertising. ### Rollout and Impact **Meta** clarified that this new option empowers users to manage how their data informs both advertising and non-advertising content. The change is slated to take effect next month in the U.S. and several other countries, including the U.K., Brazil, Thailand, South Africa, Turkey, South Korea, Ecuador, Nigeria, and Kenya.