Ahead of the EU Digital Markets Act coming into force, Meta have announced that users in the EU, EEA and Switzerland will have the option to uncouple Facebook, Instagram & Messenger accounts and operate each as a separate service.
This means that your data would not longer be shared across platforms – no tracking, no advertising based on activity on one of Meta’s other services and some changes to how you receive messages once you’ve uncoupled your accounts. If you’re in one of the applicable countries, you should get an option to uncouple Facebook and other Meta accounts in a few weeks time.
People who have already chosen to connect their Instagram and Facebook accounts will be able to choose either:
- Continue to connect their accounts so that their information will be used across their Instagram and Facebook accounts; or
- Manage their Instagram and Facebook accounts separately so that their information is no longer used across accounts
Facebook Messenger: People using Facebook Messenger can choose whether they wish to continue using Facebook Messenger with their Facebook account, or if they would prefer to create a stand-alone new Messenger account. People who choose to create a new Messenger account without their Facebook information will be able to use Messenger’s core service offering such as private messaging and chat, voice and video calling.
Facebook Marketplace: People using Facebook Marketplace can choose between a Marketplace experience that uses their Facebook information or not. For people who choose to use their Facebook information for their Marketplace experience, the current Marketplace experience will remain. People who choose not to use their Facebook information for their Marketplace experience will still be able to browse listings and to buy and sell items, with key differences being that communication between buyers and sellers will be via email instead of Facebook Messenger.
Facebook Gaming: People who play games on Facebook can choose between a gaming experience that uses their Facebook information or an experience without their Facebook information. People who choose to use their Facebook information for the games they play on Facebook will have features like multiplayer games, in-game purchases, and personalised game suggestions. People who choose not to use their Facebook information for the games they play on Facebook can play some single-player games.
Ads: People in the EU, EEA and Switzerland also have the ability to use Instagram and Facebook for free with ads, or subscribe to stop seeing ads. If people subscribe to stop seeing ads, their information will not be used for ads. This choice rolled out in November 2023.
