The change is a measure to comply with the new Digital Markets Act (DMA), which comes into force this year in Europe. Linking accounts is used to target ads, personalize content recommendations and share posts.
Meta announced on Monday (22) that platform users in Europe will have more control over their personal data. This means that people will be able to use different social networks without their information being shared between them.
For example, users will be able to use Facebook Messenger as an independent service without a Facebook account. Or, if they have already linked their Facebook and Instagram accounts, they will be able to unlink them.
The change is a measure to comply with the new Digital Markets Act (DMA), which comes into force from March in the European Union (EU), the European Economic Area and Switzerland. The new rules regulate advertising content, fraudulent interfaces, the dissemination of false information and digital security.
Account linking is used for ad targeting features, personalizing content recommendations and sharing posts.
According to Meta, which is responsible for Instagram and Facebook, notifications will be sent out in the coming weeks informing people about the possibility of choosing whether to share information. The social networks affected will be:
- Facebook;
- Messenger;
- Instagram;
- Facebook Marketplace;
- Facebook Gaming.
The decision, according to Meta, contributes to security in the virtual environment and greater control of personal data. In November, it also introduced an ad-free paid subscription option for Facebook and Instagram in the EU, citing unspecified regulatory changes.
Meta emphasizes that users may have a limited experience without data linking. As an example, it would not be possible to communicate in the Marketplace via Messenger. Gaming users will be limited to single-player games if they choose to unlink their Facebook data.