Meta Introduces 'Link History' Feature on Facebook: Understanding Its Functionality and Privacy Settings

Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has rolled out a new feature named “Link History” across its platforms, aiming to enhance user convenience by allowing easy access to browsing history within the apps.

Available on both iOS and Android versions of Facebook and Instagram, this feature, although beneficial for its 30-day browsing history storage, has sparked concerns regarding Meta's potential use of this data to optimize ad targeting across its platforms.

What is Link History?

While labeled as a user-centric addition, "Link History" stands as a new setting integrated into Facebook and Instagram. This feature, as described by Meta, actively records and consolidates users' recent website visits within the app, providing a centralized repository for easy retrieval.

Understanding the Meta Link History Feature

Meta emphasizes that this feature simplifies the process of retrieving previously visited links within a precise 30-day window. Although initially activated by default, it's important to note that this setting is opt-in, allowing users the choice to enable or disable it as desired. Below are the steps to manage the "Link History" setting on both Facebook and Instagram:

How to Enable/Disable Link History on Facebook:

Android:

• Open the Facebook app

• Tap the “more” icon at the bottom right corner

• Navigate to “Setting and Privacy”

• Access “Link History”

• Toggle on/off to manage the “Link History” setting

iPhone:

• Open the Facebook app

• Tap on “Menu” (identified by the profile picture) at the bottom right side

• Access “Settings & Privacy”

• Tap on “Link history”

• Toggle on/off to enable/disable the link history setting

Managing Link History on Instagram:

Android:

• Open the Instagram app

• Tap the three lines at the top right corner

• Navigate to “Settings and Privacy”

• Access “Website Permissions” under “your app and media”

• Tap on “Browser Settings”

• Toggle on/off to manage the link history setting

iPhone:

• Open the Instagram app

• Tap on the profile picture at the bottom right side

• Access the hamburger menu at the top right side

• Tap on “your activity” and scroll to “How you use Instagram” for the link history setting

• Toggle on/off to enable/disable the link history setting

Important Notes:

While users can toggle off the link history feature to prevent the Facebook app from recording browsing history, Meta might take up to 90 days to complete the deletion process for previously saved data. Above are the steps to enable/disable the link history feature on Instagram.