TL; DR
- Users can opt out of Facebook and Instagram user tracking, but only within the European Union.
- The reason is that EU regulators have forced Metta’s hand.
- Meta is said to be making it difficult for users to opt out.
The day has finally come, Meta is allowing users to opt out of tracking on the platform. But before you get too excited, you should know some caveats.
After being fined multiple times by EU regulators totaling more than $400 million, Meta is making changes to its monitoring practices. Initially, Meta threatened to remove its Facebook and Instagram apps from the European market, but that bluff died on the vine. Now the company has found a new solution; Allow users to opt out of tracking, but only within the European Union.
according to The Wall Street Journal, Meta will allow EU users to opt out of tracking on its platforms starting Wednesday. These users will be able to choose a version of the services that only targets ads based on broad categories like their age range and general location—as is done now, without using data like videos or what they watch. Content you click on in meta apps.
While that sounds all well and good, Meta plans to make the selection process a headache. According to the WSJ report, EU users who want to opt out must submit an “online form to opt-out of Meta using their in-app activity for advertising.” From there, Meta will review the submission and decide whether to implement the change.
Although EU privacy laws are forcing Meta to change its tracking practices, the company doesn’t seem to be giving up without a fight.