What is the Privacy Policy and what does it cover?We at Meta want you to understand what information we collect, and how we use and share it. That's why we encourage you to read our Privacy Policy. This helps you use Meta Products in the way that's right for you. In the Privacy Policy, we explain how we collect, use, share, retain and transfer information. We also let you know your rights. Each section of the Policy includes helpful examples and simpler language to make our practices easier to understand. We've also added links to resources where you can learn more about the privacy topics that interest you. It's important to us that you know how to control your privacy, so we also show you where you can manage your information in the settings of the Meta Products you use. You can update these settings to shape your experience. Read the full policy below. Return to topHow do we use your information?We use information we collect to provide a personalised experience to you, including ads, along with the other purposes that we explain in detail below. For some of these purposes, we use information across our products and across your devices. The information that we use for these purposes is automatically processed by our systems. But in some cases, we also use manual review to access and review your information. To use less information that's connected to individual users, in some cases we de-identify or aggregate information. We might also anonymise it so that it no longer identifies you. We use this information in the same ways we use your information as described in this section. Here are the ways we use your information: To provide, personalise and improve our productsRead more about how we use information to provide, personalise and improve our products: How we show ads and other sponsored or commercial contentWhen you use our products, you see ads and sponsored or commercial content, such as product listings in Shops. You also see ads shown through Meta Audience Network when you visit other apps. We want everything you see to be interesting and useful to you. To decide what to show you and others, we use information that we have about you, including: - Your profile information
- Your activity on and off our products, including information that we receive through cookies and similar technologies, according to your settings
- Things we infer about you, such as topics that we think you may be interested in
- Information about your friends, followers or other connections, including their activity or interests
Learn more about some of the ways we show you ads that we think may be interesting to you, including using machine learning. Take control in Privacy CentreHow we use information to improve our productsWe're always trying to make our products better and create new ones with the features you want. Information we collect from you helps us learn how. We use information we collect to: - See if a product is working correctly
- Troubleshoot and fix it when it's not
- Try out new products and features to see if they work
- Get feedback on our ideas for products or features
- Conduct surveys and other research about what you like about our products and brands and what we can do better
How we use location-related informationWe use location-related information that you allow us to receive if you turn on the Location Services device setting. This includes things like your GPS location and, depending on the operating system you're using, other device signals. - IP addresses, which we use to estimate your general location. We can use IP addresses to estimate your specific location if it's necessary to protect the safety and security of you or others.
- Your and others' activity on our products, such as check-ins and events
- Information that you give us directly, such as if you enter your current city on your profile, or provide your address in Marketplace
We use location-related information, such as your current location, where you live, the places you like to go and the businesses and people you're near, to do the things described in the "How do we use your information?" section of the Policy, such as: - Provide, personalise and improve our products, including ads, for you and others. See an example.
- Detect suspicious activity and help keep your account secure. Learn how.
More resourcesTo promote safety, security and integrityWe use the information we collect to help protect people from harm and provide safe, secure products. Learn moreTo provide measurement, analytics and business servicesLots of people rely on our products to run or promote their businesses. We help them measure how well their ads and other content are working. Learn moreTo communicate with youWe communicate with you using information you've given us, such as contact information you've entered on your profile. Learn moreTo research and innovate for social goodWe use information we have, information from researchers and datasets from publicly available sources, professional groups and non-profit groups to conduct and support research. Learn morePromoting safety, security and integrityHere are some ways that we promote safety, security and integrity. We work to: - Verify accounts and activity
- Find and address violations of our terms or policies. In some cases, the decisions we make about violations are reviewed by the Oversight Board. They may use the information we have when they review our decisions. Learn more about how the Oversight Board processes information.
- Investigate suspicious activity
- Detect, prevent and combat harmful or unlawful behaviour
- Identify and combat disparities and racial bias against historically marginalised communities
- Detect and prevent spam and other bad experiences
- Detect when someone needs help and provide support
- Detect and stop threats to our personnel and property
- Maintain the integrity of our products
Learn more about how we work to keep Meta a safe place for everyone. Providing measurement, analytics and business servicesOur measurement and analytics services help our Partners understand things such as: - How many people see and interact with their content, including posts, videos, Facebook Pages, listings, shops and ads (including those shown through apps using Meta Audience Network)
- How people interact with their content, websites, apps and services
- What types of people interact with their content or use their services
More in the Privacy PolicyCommunicating with youWe communicate with you in a few different ways. For example: - We send messages about the products that we know you use, using the email address that you register to your account
- Depending on your settings, we send marketing communications about products that you might like
- We ask you to participate in research based on things such as how you use our products
- We let you know about our policies and terms of service
- When you contact us with questions, we reply to your email
- We facilitate customer support communications with you when you've told us, either directly or through a third party, that you have questions or concerns about our products
We also use information about how you interact with our messages, such as if you open an email from us. This helps us understand the best way to reach you and whether our communications are helpful. Take controlResearching and innovating for social good We research and innovate to help people around the world. Our goals include: - Contributing to social good and areas of public interest
- Advancing technology
- Improving safety, health and well-being
Here are some examples of our research: - We analyse information about where groups of people go during crises. This helps relief organisations get aid to the right places.
- We work with independent researchers to better understand the impact that social media might have on elections and democratic processes
- We've collaborated with academics and industry experts to help improve Internet access and quality in rural areas
- We support research in areas such as artificial intelligence and machine learning to do things like create COVID-19 forecasting models
More in the Privacy Policy Return to topHow do we share information with partners, vendors, service providers and third parties?We don't sell any of your information to anyone and we never will. We also require partners and third parties to follow rules about how they can and cannot use and disclose the information that we provide. Here's more detail about who we share information with: PartnersAdvertisers and Audience Network publishersAdvertisersWe provide advertisers with reports about the number and kinds of people who see and engage with their ads. These reports include information about the general demographics and interests of people who engaged with an advertiser's ad. Then advertisers can better understand their audience. See an example. Meta also provides advertisers and their business partners with information about: - Ads that people engaged with, if any
- When people engaged with ads
- Where that ad was shown (e.g. on Instagram or Facebook)
But we don't share information with these advertisers and their business partners that by itself can be used to contact or identify you, such as your name or email address, unless you give us permission.Audience Network publishers and their business partnersMeta Audience Network lets advertisers place ads with us that will be published on apps outside of Meta. To help show you ads on their apps, we share information with publishers who use Audience Network, as well as business partners who facilitate that use. For example, we share: - How many people see and engage with ads on publisher apps
- Information related to or in response to a publisher's request to serve an ad on its app.
But we don't share information with these publishers and their business partners that by itself can be used to contact or identify you, such as your name or email address, unless you give us permission. Partners who use our analytics servicesPeople rely on our products, such as business accounts, professional tools and Facebook Pages, to run and promote their businesses. Businesses use our analytics services to understand more about how people are using their content and features. We receive information about how people interact with their posts, listings, Facebook Pages, videos, shops or other content, on and off our products. Then we put this information into aggregate reports so they can see how well their content is performing. These reports aggregate information such as: Partners who advertise with us also receive other information. Read our policy about how we share information with advertisers. Partners who offer goods or services on our products and commerce services platformsWhen you choose to make a transaction, or otherwise choose to share information with a seller, creator, fundraiser, charity, payment services provider or commerce services platform, we share information with them and with any providers acting on their behalf. Depending on how you interact with them, they receive: - Information to complete your transaction, such as order, payment, contact and delivery information
- Information to help ensure the security of the transaction, such as information about your device or connection
- Any information required by applicable regulation
- Other information that you choose to share with them
For example, if you make a purchase from an Instagram shop using checkout, the shop will receive information to complete your transaction. This may include your order items, your contact details and delivery information. If the shop uses a payment services provider, such as PayPal, to facilitate the transaction, the provider will receive the transaction amount, a transaction description (to appear on your credit card statement) and your payment card information, such as cardholder name, card number, expiry date and billing address. Learn more about payments on Instagram. Integrated partnersWhen you choose to use integrated partners' products or services, they receive information about you and your activity. Read the policy. VendorsMeasurement and marketing vendorsMeasurement and marketing vendors are businesses that provide marketing-related support to Meta and its advertisers. For example, they purchase ads on our behalf, provide market research and measure the effectiveness of our campaigns. Such vendors also support our Partners' advertising. Measurement vendorsWe don't create every measurement and analytics report ourselves. We work with measurement vendors who create reports that help our partners, like advertisers, understand how their content and ads are performing, who is engaging with them and whether people took an action after seeing their ad. We share information (e.g. whether people saw an ad or engaged with it) with our measurement vendors, who aggregate it to provide their reports. See an example. Marketing vendorsWe share information about you with companies that help market our Company and Products, measure the effectiveness of our own marketing campaigns and perform advertising research. For example, we share your device identifier or other identifiers with advertising vendors to help us serve you ads most relevant to your interests. Learn more about how vendors support our marketing and advertising efforts. Service providersThird partiesExternal researchersWe provide information to external researchers. They use it to conduct research that advances scholarship and innovation, and to promote safety, security and integrity. Research goals include supporting: - Our business or mission
- Social good. Learn more.
- Technological advancement
- Safety and security on our products
- Public interest
- Health and well-being
When sharing data with external researchers, we ensure that the privacy of our users is protected. Learn more about the privacy-safe research we support. Other times that we share with third partiesWe also share information with third parties in response to legal requests, to comply with applicable law or to prevent harm. Read the policy. And if we sell or transfer all or part of our business to someone else, then we may give the new owner your information as part of that transaction, in line with applicable law. Return to topHow can you manage or delete your information and exercise your rights?We offer you a variety of tools to view, manage, download and delete your information below. You can also manage your information by visiting the settings of the Products you use. You may also have other privacy rights under applicable laws. To exercise your rights, visit our Help centres, your settings for Facebook and Instagram and your device-based settings. View and manage your informationPort, download or delete your informationYou can learn more about how privacy works on Facebook and on Instagram, and in the Facebook Help Centre. If you have any questions about this policy, you can contact us as described below. In some countries, you may also be able to contact the Data Protection Officer for Meta Platforms, Inc., and depending on your jurisdiction, you may also contact your local Data Protection Authority ("DPA") directly. Return to topHow long do we keep your information for?We keep information for as long as we need it to provide our products, comply with legal obligations or to protect our or other's interests. We decide how long we need information on a case-by-case basis. Here's what we consider when we decide: - If we need it to operate or provide our products. For example, we need to keep some of your information to maintain your account. Learn more.
- The feature that we use it for and how that feature works. For example, messages sent using Messenger's vanish mode are retained for less time than regular messages. Learn more.
- How long we need to retain the information for to comply with certain legal obligations. See some examples.
- If we need it for other legitimate purposes, such as to prevent harm; investigate possible violations of our terms or policies; promote safety, security and integrity; or protect ourselves, including our rights, property or products
In some instances and for specific reasons, we'll keep information for an extended period of time. Read our policy about when we may preserve your information. Return to topHow do we transfer information?Why is information transferred to other countries?We share the information that we collect globally, both internally across our offices and data centres, and externally with our partners, vendors, service providers and third parties. Because Meta is global, with users, partners and employees around the world, transfers are necessary for a variety of reasons, including: - So we can operate and provide the services stated in the terms of the Meta Product that you're using and this Policy. This includes allowing you to share information and connect with your family and friends around the globe.
- So we can fix, analyse and improve our products
Where is information transferred? Your information will be transferred or transmitted to, or stored and processed in: - Places we have infrastructure or data centres, including the United States, Ireland, Denmark and Sweden, amongst others
- Countries where Meta Company Products are available
- Other countries where our partners, vendors, service providers and third parties are located outside of the country where you live, for purposes as described in this Policy
How do we safeguard your information?We also make sure that appropriate safeguards are in place whenever we transfer your information. For example, we encrypt your information when it's in transit over public networks to protect it from unauthorised access. More resources Return to topHow do we respond to legal requests, comply with applicable law and prevent harm?We access, preserve, use and share your information: - In response to legal requests, such as search warrants, court orders, production orders or subpoenas. These requests come from third parties such as civil litigants, law enforcement and other government authorities. Learn more about when we respond to legal requests.
- In accordance with applicable law
- To promote the safety, security and integrity of Meta Products, users, employees, property and the public. Learn more.
We may access or preserve your information for an extended amount of time. Learn more. Return to topHow will you know the policy has changed?We'll notify you before we make material changes to this Policy. You'll have the opportunity to review the revised Policy before you choose to continue using our products. Return to top |