Meta · Privacy Policy

What Meta Collects and Why

Meta (the company behind Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp) collects a very broad range of information about you — not just what you post, but also your location, device details, how you move your mouse, what apps you use, your purchases, and data about your activity on other websites and apps that use Meta's advertising tools. This tracking happens even if you don't have an account. Meta uses all of this to personalize your feeds, show you targeted ads, build and improve its AI systems, and run analytics for businesses and advertisers.

How Your Data Is Shared

Your information flows across all Meta-owned products (Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger, etc.) and is shared with advertisers, analytics partners, app developers you connect to, and service providers. Meta states it does not sell your data, but it does share detailed behavioral profiles with advertisers and third parties for ad targeting purposes — including using data from your activity on non-Meta sites and apps to target you with ads inside Meta's platforms. If Meta sells or transfers its business, your data may go to the new owner.

AI Training and Special Categories of Data

Meta explicitly uses your public posts, comments, and AI interactions to develop and improve "AI at Meta" — both for its own products and for third parties. If you voluntarily share sensitive information (religious views, health details, political opinions, sexual orientation, etc.), Meta may process that too for personalization purposes, though it says it won't use it to show you ads. Your data is transferred globally, including to and from the United States.

Your Controls and Rights

Meta offers tools to view, download, and delete your information, and you can adjust privacy settings within each app. Depending on your country, you may have additional legal rights (such as requesting access or deletion) and can contact Meta's Privacy Operations team or your local Data Protection Authority. Meta retains data on a case-by-case basis — as long as it deems necessary for its products, legal obligations, or "legitimate purposes" — which in practice means there's no single clear deletion timeline.