Facebook issues privacy nudge and opens third-party tracking settings

An average profile numbered connections with more than 500 social networks, apps, news websites, retailers, petitions and more, according to the list. The setting now lets users choose who to remove or block.

Tracking features can be turned off at the expense of personalised 'experiences'. Facebook will continue to monitor user activity for measurement and ad systems but the results would be anonymised and disconnected from the account.

Privacy-savvy users also now have the choice to delete their entire off-Facebook activity. Wired has detailed all the ways in which Facebook monitors its users here.

Facebook has had a long and spotted history with privacy which is looking to address with the changes. As a result, it's also sending a privacy nudge to its 2bn users, urging them to review their settings.

Users can access the settings in the Facebook app, via Off-Facebook Activity in the setting.

Also from today and over the next few weeks, we will also be sending out a reminder to nearly two billion people on Facebook everywhere to check their privacy settings, with a nudge to go to Privacy Checkup – appearing right at the top of their newsfeed.

Steve Hatch, vice president of Northern Europe Facebook, said: “There are a number of ways you can control your information on Facebook and we’re always looking at more ways for you to do this. That’s why from today, our Off-Facebook Activity tool will make it easy to manage which apps and websites can access your information.

"We’re also marking Global Data Privacy Day by reminding millions of UK users to check their privacy settings with our simple Privacy Checkup so you’re in control of what you share, and who with.”