Meta to Use Off-Site Business Data for Feed and AI Personalization
19:03 · June 9, 2026 · Hacker News AI Section
Meta on Tuesday announced that it will use information shared by other businesses to personalize users' feed and responses from its artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot, expanding its scope beyond targeted ads. "Businesses often share information about people's activity on their sites with us to make ads more relevant," Meta said in a statement. "We already use this data - like games you play
Summary
Meta has confirmed it will begin applying data that third-party businesses share about user activity on their own sites to personalize content in users’ Feeds and responses generated by its AI chatbot. Until now, this off-site information—such as purchases, game play, or email sign-ups—has been used primarily to refine targeted advertising. The change extends the same signals to non-ad surfaces without requiring Meta to collect any additional categories of data.
The company is updating its user controls to reflect the broader use. The existing “Activity from other businesses” setting, previously labeled “Activity information from ad partners,” will now govern personalization for both ads and other content. A separate control titled “Your activity off Meta technologies” is being retired. Users who keep the setting enabled will see content shaped by external activity; those who disable it will receive recommendations based solely on interactions within Meta’s own platforms.
Meta states that businesses may continue to share customer lists, and that the same data-handling rules will apply to both advertising and AI-driven recommendations. The updated policy is scheduled to take effect next month in the United States, the United Kingdom, Brazil, and several other markets.
Why it matters
This update is highly relevant for privacy professionals in the Netherlands as it directly impacts GDPR compliance and data sharing agreements. Dutch organizations sharing data with Meta must evaluate how their users' data is being repurposed for AI personalization and update their privacy notices accordingly.
