Facebook users to see, control personal data taken from other websites

Facebook Inc said on Tuesday it was tweaking its policies to allow users to see and control the data that other websites and apps share with the social network to improve targeted advertising.

The company defines the data, for example when a clothing website shares information with Facebook on browsing activity of a user, as "Off-Facebook Activity".

"We are starting by gradually making Off-Facebook Activity available to people in Ireland, South Korea and Spain," Facebook executives said in a blog post.

The social media site said if a user clears their off-Facebook activity, Facebook would remove the user's identifying information from the data that apps and websites choose to send.

"We won't know which websites you visited or what you did there, and we won't use any of the data you disconnect to target ads to you on Facebook, Instagram or Messenger." Facebook said it expects this could have some impact on its business. The tech heavyweight has faced criticism from lawmakers and regulators over its privacy practices.

Last month the company agreed to a record-setting $5 billion privacy settlement with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission. The settlement is awaiting court approval.