Instagram users in the United States can now take steps to limit how their activity outside the app is used to personalize ads, feed content, and AI responses. Meta began rolling out a broader control called Activity from other businesses in July 2026, which replaces the older Your activity off Meta technologies setting. The new control also expands an existing ad setting known as Activity information from ad partners. It determines whether businesses can use the information they already send to Meta for personalization purposes. This rollout is happening by country, so some accounts may still see the older option under Ad preferences and Ad settings.
To adjust the setting, users should open Instagram, go to their profile, tap the three-line menu, and open Accounts Center. The Activity from other businesses option can be found there, and users should choose the selection that prevents Meta from using this off-platform activity for personalization. However, the change does not stop businesses from sending data to Meta, nor does it block Meta from using activity generated inside Instagram itself. Ads can still be based on accounts followed, posts or Reels engaged with, searches, ad clicks, profile details, or customer lists uploaded by advertisers. In the European Region, Accounts Center also offers a less-personalized ads option under Ad preferences, which uses fewer signals but can still rely on age, location, device information, and ad interactions.
On iPhone, users can go to Settings, then Privacy and Security, then Tracking, and turn off Instagram’s permission. Apple’s control blocks tracking across other companies’ apps and websites for advertising or sharing with data brokers, but it does not stop Instagram from recording activity inside its own app. On Android, the path is typically Settings, then Apps, then Instagram, then Permissions, where users can deny access to location, contacts, photos, videos, camera, and microphone. Turning off location removes one direct source, though Meta may still estimate a user’s location from an IP address, network information, device signals, and account activity.
Contact syncing requires a separate check. In Accounts Center, under Your information and permissions, users can select Upload contacts, choose the Instagram account, and turn off Connect contacts on every device. That stops future syncing but does not delete contacts already uploaded. To remove those, users must use the Manage contacts option in Accounts Center on Instagram.com, and Meta says deletion can take up to 90 days.
Meta also uses information across accounts added to the same Accounts Center to personalize ads and suggest accounts to follow. Removing an account from the Accounts Center takes it out of that shared center, but may disable shared logins and other connected features. It does not delete the account or its existing information.
Meta began using interactions with its AI features as signals for content and ad personalization on December 16, 2025, in most regions. A conversation about hiking, for example, could later influence recommendations for hiking posts or products. There is no separate setting that lets users keep chatting with Meta AI while excluding those conversations from this use. However, Instagram AI chats have two cleanup commands: typing /reset-ai deletes that AI’s copy of the conversation and saved details, and /reset-all-ais resets every AI chat in the app. The visible chat remains until deleted separately, and these commands do not serve as opt-outs from advertising, ordinary data collection, or model training.
Model training is separate from personalization. Meta uses public posts and comments from adult accounts, along with interactions with its AI features, to improve generative AI models in regions where it relies on legitimate interests. Users in the EU and UK can object through Meta’s Privacy Center, but that right is not a universal Instagram setting. Experts and Meta advise against putting names, addresses, financial details, medical information, or anything else not meant for public posting into a Meta AI chat, and recommend using the reset commands after sensitive conversations.
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