Facebook Launches Mobile App ‘Link History’ to Monitor Website Visits: How to Turn It On or Off
Facebook’s mobile app now has a “Link History” feature that records every website you’ve visited over the previous 30 days. Now accessible via the Facebook app for iOS and Android, the setting is enabled by default but is optional. According to reports, Facebook users are seeing an in-app pop-up that explains the link history function and offers them the option to turn it off. Facebook presents link history as an easy-to-use repository for all the links you’ve visited recently, but in typical Meta manner, there’s a privacy catch.
The link history toggle is reportedly going out on Facebook’s mobile app, according to the help website. The functionality is now being progressively rolled out internationally and can be found on the Facebook app for iOS and Android. As previously indicated, when enabled, the link history option stores a user’s list of websites visited during the past thirty days using the Facebook mobile browser.
Facebook adds that URLs clicked during Messenger conversations are not included in this option. Link history is an option that you may switch on or off at any time. The support website states, “Any URLs you touch within Facebook and visit in Facebook’s Mobile Browser will be preserved here for 30 days when link history is turned on.
It has been noted that when users visit the Facebook app, a pop-up for the link history option appears. A Gizmodo article claims that the function is promoted as a handy way to save all of your links. “Easily get back the recent links you’ve visited with your Facebook browsing activity now saved in one place” is added to the in-app prompt, which says, “Never lose a link again.”
But there’s also the issue of privacy to consider. Facebook makes it clear that it may utilize the list of links you have saved to provide you with tailored advertisements across its platforms and technologies on both its help page for the link history toggle and the in-app pop-up. The support website states, “Remember that when link history is enabled, we may use link history data from Facebook’s Mobile Browser to enhance your ads across Meta technologies.” In effect, this turns your link history into a single, accessible interest board that Facebook can use to target people with ads.
Open any link inside the Facebook mobile app to open the Facebook mobile browser, then choose the option to enable or disable link history. Next, choose Browser settings by tapping the three-dot menu located in the lower right corner. Press the toggle and confirm your selection to switch the setting on or off. When the option is off, Meta claims that it will instantly remove any link history you may have followed and that it will not utilize your browser history to “improve your ads” on any of its platforms. However, it also mentions that the full removal of your list of connections might take up to 90 days.
The link history functionality is currently available on the mobile Instagram app from Meta. The menu’s “Your activity” option is where you may find the setting. Facebook said last month that calls and one-on-one conversations on the Messenger app will by default be encrypted from beginning to finish.
