Here's how Facebook's new 'Clear History' tool could either hurt or help ad targeting

data breaches over the last few years. But that visibility could likewise trigger backlash: As users explore the"Off-Facebook Activity" tab, they'll become fully aware of Facebook's breadth of knowledge on their habits.

If users adopt the new tool en masse, it could dampen Facebook's ad targeting capabilities — and revenue as a result — but if users don't, it could actually boost effectiveness. Facebook didn't previously link this third-party data directly to users. Instead, it stored the data in a variety of locations, organized by date and time. But to allow users to easily and entirely cleanse their browsing history from Facebook, it needed to pull all of the threads together in one place — that's what the"Clear History" tool does.

If users adopt this tool on a wide scale, it could hurt Facebook's ad targeting capabilities, something the companyin a blog post this May. But if users don't flock to the tool — which many likely won't, unless Facebook actively directs them to the new section — the new infrastructure could actually help the company.

In the process of creating the new tool, Facebook now has centralized, better-organized data, with clearer links between a given user's on- and off-platform activity. In that way, it's possible that Facebook just gained an even more accurate view of some user's preferences, potentially helping it serve even more effective ads.Sign up for the Digital Media Briefing to get it delivered to your inbox 6x a week.

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