B&TB&TB&T
  • Advertising
  • Campaigns
  • Marketing
  • Media
  • Technology
  • Regulars
    • Agency Scorecards
    • Best of the Best
    • Campaigns of the Month
    • CMO Power List
    • CMOs to Watch
    • Culture Bites
    • Fast 10
    • New Business Winners
    • Spotlight on Sponsors
  • Jobs
  • Awards
    • 30 Under 30
    • B&T Awards
    • Cairns Crocodiles
    • Women In Media
    • Women Leading Tech
Search
Trending topics:
  • Cairns Crocodiles
  • Nine
  • Seven
  • Cannes Lions
  • WPP
  • State of Origin
  • NRL
  • Pinterest
  • B&T Women in Media
  • Thinkerbell
  • AFL
  • imaa
  • Anthony Albanese
  • Spotlight on Sponsors
  • Meta
  • AI
  • Foxtel
  • TV Ratings
  • Radio Ratings
  • Sports Marketing

  • About
  • Contact
  • Editorial Guidelines
  • Privacy
  • Terms
  • Advertise
© 2025 B&T. The Misfits Media Company Pty Ltd.
Reading: Facebook’s New ‘Off-Facebook’ Function Increases Transparency, But Could Decrease Ad Revenue
Share
B&TB&T
Subscribe
Search
  • Advertising
  • Campaigns
  • Marketing
  • Media
  • Technology
  • Regulars
    • Agency Scorecards
    • Best of the Best
    • Campaigns of the Month
    • CMO Power List
    • CMOs to Watch
    • Culture Bites
    • Fast 10
    • New Business Winners
    • Spotlight on Sponsors
  • Jobs
  • Awards
    • 30 Under 30
    • B&T Awards
    • Cairns Crocodiles
    • Women In Media
    • Women Leading Tech
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Editorial Guidelines
  • Privacy
  • Terms
  • Advertise
© 2025 B&T. The Misfits Media Company Pty Ltd.
B&T > Advertising > Facebook’s New ‘Off-Facebook’ Function Increases Transparency, But Could Decrease Ad Revenue
AdvertisingTechnology

Facebook’s New ‘Off-Facebook’ Function Increases Transparency, But Could Decrease Ad Revenue

Staff Writers
Published on: 21st August 2019 at 10:35 AM
Staff Writers
Share
3 Min Read
SHARE

Facebook is “shedding more light” on the mysterious world of online advertising with its new ‘off-facebook’ feature, but the company is already warning advertisers it will impact targeting.

The company’s chief privacy officer policy Erin Egan and director of product management David Baser announced the launch of the new function overnight, which is set to begin being rolled out globally.

“Many apps and websites are free because they’re supported by online advertising. And to reach people who are more likely to care about what they are selling, businesses often share data about people’s interactions on their websites with ad platforms and other services,” the Facebook executives said.

“To help shed more light on these practices that are common yet not always well understood, today we’re introducing a new way to view and control your off-Facebook activity.”

The feature allows users to see and control the data that other apps and websites share with Facebook, which is gathered across the internet through the ‘Login with Facebook’ function, ‘Likes’ and embedded Facebook pixel code that hides in the background of certain websites and collects audience data.

With Off-Facebook, users can see a summary of all the data apps and websites have sent about them to Facebook, disconnect this information and choose to disconnect all data with the clear off-Facebook activity function.

Users can also tailor which apps and websites share their activity with Facebook.

The introduction of the new tool is on-brand with Facebook’s post-Cambridge Analytica privacy push and was actually first announced at last year’s Facebook developer conference, which took place just weeks after the scandal broke.

It was originally set to be a ‘Clear History’ feature (which it still is), however, Facebook opted to add in additional functions.

By providing more transparency to the workings of online advertising and giving users the option to opt-out of certain data collection, Facebook certainly risks hurting its profitability with the latest move.

Ahead of the announcement, Facebook issued a statement to advertisers, telling them point-blank “this feature may affect targeting”.

“When someone disconnects their off-Facebook activity, we won’t use the data they clear for targeting. This means that targeting options powered by Facebook’s business tools, such as the Facebook pixel, can’t be used to reach someone with ads,” Facebook said.

Whether this will scare off advertisers is yet to be seen, but with Facebook COO telling the media earlier this year “our bottom line is getting [Off-Facebook] right”, it could be argued the company is now prioritising privacy over profitability.

Off-Facebook is initially being rolled out in Ireland, South Korea and Spain, but will expand globally in the coming months.

 

Join more than 30,000 advertising industry experts
Get all the latest advertising and media news direct to your inbox from B&T.

No related posts.

TAGGED: Data collection, Facebook, Privacy
Share
Staff Writers
By Staff Writers
Follow:
Staff Writers represent B&T's team of award-winning reporters. Here, you'll find articles crafted with industry experience spanning over 50 years. Our team of specialists brings together a wealth of knowledge and a commitment to delivering insightful, topical, and breaking news. With a deep understanding of advertising and media, our Staff Writers are dedicated to providing industry-leading analysis and reporting, both shaping the conversation and setting the benchmark for excellence.

Latest News

Telstra Launches One-Off Ad During State Of Origin Decider
11/07/2025
Clemenger BBDO Sydney office.
Agency Scorecard: Clemenger BBDO
11/07/2025
Matt Coote.
Matt Coote Takes New Senior Role At GumGum
11/07/2025
Spenser Skates.
Amplitude Acquires Kraftful To Embed AI-Native Voice Of Customer Capabilities
11/07/2025
//

B&T is Australia’s leading news publication magazine for the advertising, marketing, media and PR industries.

 

B&T is owned by parent company The Misfits Media Company Pty Ltd.

About B&T

  • About
  • Contact
  • Editorial Guidelines
  • Privacy
  • Terms
  • Advertise

Top Categories

  • Advertising
  • Campaigns
  • Marketing
  • Media
  • Opinion
  • Technology
  • TV Ratings

Sign Up for Our Newsletter



B&TB&T
Follow US
© 2025 B&T. The Misfits Media Company Pty Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Register Lost your password?