This is a library that saves all the links users click on.
Link History stores all the links users click on within the Facebook mobile app on Android and iOS for 30 days.
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The Link History setting is being rolled out gradually but appears to be turned on by default, with users forced to manually navigate to the settings tab to disable it if they don't want their link clicks tracked and stored.
This means that many users would unknowingly consent to this tracking tactic.
When tracking your clicked links leads to targeted advertisements and who knows what else, the line between delivering a useful tool and yet another Meta dark pattern gets significantly blurred.
Amid privacy concerns and legislation that aims to protect user data, Meta continues to push its data harvesting tactics within its products.
The Link History setting tracks the links you've clicked in the Facebook app that are then opened on the app's Browser,.
If you can't see this option in your Facebook settings, the ability to opt out of Facebook's Link History probably hasn't rolled out to your account yet.
Yes, even if you have the Link History tracking feature enabled, you can still access your Link History at any time and clear it.
The option to clear your Link History in the Facebook app's Browser Settings, where you can also enable and disable it.
Meta says it stores links clicked within the Facebook app for up to 30 days.
If you turn off the Link History setting, Meta says it can take up to 90 days to delete your Link History.
The Link History setting only saves links that you visit within the Facebook app.
If you enable this setting, all the links you click on within Facebook will be saved in a repository that you can view, but you won't see any links you click on outside the Facebook app.
Meta has a murky history with user privacy so it's packaging the Link History tactic as a privacy feature rather than a tracking mechanism.
This new setting appears to give users control over the links they click on within Facebook, but Meta was already tracking this information for Facebook and Instagram users.
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Meta doesn't yet allow users to disable Link History on Instagram, which also opens clicked links on a built-in browser.
This Cyber News was published on www.zdnet.com. Publication date: Thu, 04 Jan 2024 18:43:03 +0000