How Do You Hide Your History On Facebook?
As a Facebook user, if you’re the type that follows every news regarding the social networking platform, then I’m sure you’ll remember the Facebook–Cambridge Analytica scandal in 2015. At the time, more than 87 million Facebook profiles were reported to be harvested by the data analytical firm without the direct consent of the users. In 2018, Mark Zuckerberg responded to the issue and promised that Facebook will roll out a tool, called Clear History.
Interestingly, Facebook kept to its promise and released the clear history tool, called the “Off-Facebook Activity.” According to Facebook, Off-Facebook Activity is a tool that provides you with more control over your data. It allows you to understand the summary of information Facebook receives regarding your activity on the platform. That’s not all; it also allows you to clear the information from your account, in case you’re not comfortable having it on Facebook.
That said, here’s a burning question, how can you take advantage of the tool to hide or delete your “activity history” on Facebook?
To hide your history on Facebook, you need to use the Off-Facebook Activity tool. To find it, locate and tap on the Menu icon. From there, go to Settings & Privacy > Settings > Your Facebook Information > Off-Facebook Activity. Next, click on “Manage Your Off-Facebook Activity” and clear your history.
In the rest of this post, I’ll share everything you need to know about how to clear your activity history on Facebook using the Off-Facebook Activity tool. In addition to that, you’ll also learn how to manage your future activity and keep it hidden.
Can Facebook Track Your Online Activity?
Here’s a quick question, can Facebook track your internet activities and access your data? The direct answer to the question is yes.
Everything begins the moment you sign up for an account on the social networking platform. On the web, for you to use Facebook, you’ll permit the site to log your activities, such as your behavior, the groups you join, and the people you chat with.
Facebook utilizes the information to provide you with ads that are most relevant to you. Let’s face it; there’s no way you can restrict the social networking site from collecting your activity log.
Furthermore, on the mobile app, signing up to Facebook means you’re permitting the site to log the Wi-Fi networks you’re using, your activities, location, and many more. As earlier mentioned, there’s only one way you can stop Facebook from accessing this information. Of course, that’s if you don’t sign up on the social networking platform.
The bottom line is, Facebook can keep track of your internet activity. Once the website collects your data, it primarily utilizes it to provide you with a better experience. However, the data can also be accessed by third-party apps without your direct consent.
Fortunately, Facebook has recently introduced a new tool, called Off-Facebook Activity. It allows you to manage your internet activity and have more control over your data. How exactly does the Off-Facebook Activity tool work and why is it important to use it? Find out the answer to this question in the next section of this post.
What Is the Off-Facebook Activity Tool and What Does It Offer?
As earlier mentioned, the Off-Facebook Activity tool was released in January 2020. According to Facebook, the tool is a “summary of activities that businesses and organizations share with us about your interactions, such as visiting their apps or websites.”
Here’s a simple explanation of what Off-Facebook Activity is all about; it’s the page that’ll show you the list of your information that Facebook collects from third-party apps.
It’s pretty simple; imagine you visit an online shopping platform and purchase some items. Your activity on the app is usually shared with Facebook. The social networking platform will then use the information to provide you with advertisements that are relevant to your activities on the third-party app.
With the Off-Facebook Activity tool, here are some of what you’ll have control over on your account.
- See the information that Facebook collects from third-party apps regarding you.
- Hide or clear your activity history on your Facebook account.
- Manage future activities on your Facebook account.
- Download the details of your off-Facebook activities.
How You Can Hide Your Activity History on Facebook?
What all that has been said so far, there’s no denying that the Off-Facebook Activity tool plays a pivotal role in how you can control your data.
That said, if you’re looking to hide your activity history on Facebook, you can follow the steps below to make that happen.
- Open your Facebook app and tap the “Menu” icon at the right-hand corner of your home page.
- Next, scroll down to the bottom of the page and tap on the “Settings & Privacy” option.
- After that, locate the “Settings” option and tap on it.
- Next, your “Account Setting” page will display on the screen. Now, scroll down, locate, and select the “Off-Facebook Activity” option.
- After that, your Off-Facebook Activity page will display. Next, scroll down and click on “Manage Your Off-Facebook Activity.” From there, you’ll be able to view all the internet activities that the social networking platform has collected from third parties.
- Now, to hide or delete the information, all you need to do is to tap on “Clear History.”
That’s it; you’ve now successfully cleared your internet activities on your Facebook account.
It’s worth knowing that clearing your history doesn’t necessarily mean Facebook won’t collect your data anymore. However, for you to prevent this kind of information from getting installed on your Facebook account again, you need to manage your future activities.
- To do that, tap “More Options” under your Off-Facebook Activity page.
- After that, click on “Manage Future Activity.“
- At the bottom of the new page, click on “Manage Future Activity.”
- To disable the option, all you need to do is turn off the “Future Off-Facebook Activity” button. Confirm your action by clicking on “Turn Off” at the bottom of the page.
