Who is following you? Facebook users have more control over the data

(Reuters) – Facebook Inc (FB.O) said on Tuesday that he was tweaking his policies to allow users to view and control the data collected by the social network from their browsing habits on other websites and apps .

The company defines the data, for example when a clothing website shares information with Facebook about a user's browsing activity, as "Off-Facebook activity" .

Facebook said in a blog post here that the tool was being rolled out in Ireland, South Korea and Spain and that it would be available to users around the world in the coming months, adding that he expected this initiative to have an impact on his activities.

"We believe that this information on off Facebook activities has been very useful for Facebook, which allows it to offer advertisers the opportunity to reach consumers already interested in their products or services," said James Cordwell , analyst for Atlantic Equities.

The latest action comes as the company faces stiff criticism from lawmakers and regulators about its privacy practices. Last month, Facebook agreed to a record $ 5 billion privacy regulation with the US Federal Trade Commission.

The company derives its revenue from advertising and offers tools to advertisers to target potential customers. Any change in reducing the effectiveness of ad targeting hurts the company's business figure.

In the quarter ended June 30, Facebook generated nearly $ 17 billion in ad sales.

The social network said that if a user clears his Off-Facebook activity, he would delete the user information from the data that the applications and websites choose to send.

"The question remains how many consumers will actually use this feature, especially since it will require navigating in the Application Settings area," Cordwell said.

"I think the impact of this new feature will also be manageable for the company."