Facebook and Instagram can track user activity through the browser built into their apps

Author:
Oleg Panfilovych
Date:

Meta, the owner of social networks Facebook and Instagram, can track the activity of users of these networks through the web browser built into their applications.

This is reported by Engadget.

The former Google engineer, Felix Krause, discovered that these browsers insert JavaScript code into every website visited, allowing applications to potentially track user behavior on them.

"Instagram embeds its tracking code on every website that is displayed, including when an ad is clicked, allowing it to track all user interactions, such as every button and link clicked, highlighted text, screenshots, and any forms entered, like passwords, addresses and credit card numbers,” Krause explained.

"The code allows us to aggregate user data before using it for targeted advertising or measurement... For in-app web browser purchases, we require user consent to store payment information for autofill purposes," Meta noted.

At the same time, Krause noted that Facebook does not necessarily use this code to collect confidential data. He also noted that the WhatsApp messenger, which is also owned by Meta, does not insert the mentioned code into sites when switching from it.

  • In late July, Facebook reported its first-ever annual decline in second-quarter revenue. The company fell 1% to $28.8 billion.
  • Appleʼs "Ask the App Not to Track" feature on the iPhone reduced the effectiveness of advertising and reduced Metaʼs ad revenue by $10 billion last year. And now, the rapid economic slowdown has forced advertisers to cut back on their spending.