Meta to Personalize Facebook and Instagram Feeds Using Web Activity

Meta is expanding how it uses data from your activity on other websites, applying information previously reserved for ad targeting to personalize the content you see in Facebook and Instagram feeds.

The change, which takes effect in July 2026, means the social media giant will use signals like games you've played on other sites and purchases you've made elsewhere to shape your Reels feed and other content recommendations. Meta announced the update in a blog post on Tuesday, according to The Verge.

How the system works

Meta already collects data that businesses share about user activity on their websites and apps—information it has used to target advertisements. Now that same data pool will inform what organic content appears in your feeds.

The company offered an example: if you recently purchased a tent from an online retailer, you might subsequently see camping-related videos in your Reels feed. Meta spokesperson Emil Vazquez told The Verge that the company previously relied only on activity within its own apps—likes, views, and follows—to tailor content recommendations.

Meta emphasized that it is not collecting new categories of data as part of this change. The update represents a new application of information businesses already transmit to the platform.

AI personalization included

The expanded data use extends beyond feed curation to Meta's AI features. The company will also apply off-platform activity data to personalize responses from its AI assistant. Meta began using conversations with its AI assistant to personalize ads in 2025.

Privacy controls consolidated

Meta is streamlining its privacy settings in conjunction with the change. Users who want to prevent the company from using data shared by other businesses will now manage a single toggle called "Activity from other businesses." Disabling this setting will block Meta from applying off-platform data to ads, feed personalization, and AI responses.

Geographic limitations

The update is rolling out globally but will initially exclude several regions. At launch, the European region, the United Kingdom, Brazil, Thailand, South Africa, Turkey, South Korea, Ecuador, Nigeria, and Kenya will not see the change implemented. Vazquez did not specify whether these exclusions are temporary or reflect regulatory constraints.

Why it matters

This expansion blurs the line between advertising infrastructure and content recommendation systems. While Meta has long tracked user behavior across the web for ad purposes, applying that surveillance to organic content curation represents a deeper integration of cross-site tracking into the core social media experience. For businesses, it means their customer data shared with Meta through pixels and conversion APIs now influences not just who sees their ads, but what content their customers encounter throughout Meta's platforms. The geographic exclusions suggest regulatory environments are creating a fragmented privacy landscape where users in different countries experience fundamentally different versions of the same social networks.

These details were first reported by The Verge.