Despite stated restrictions, research and regulatory investigations have found that minors routinely access Meta's platforms and may be subject to behavioral profiling and targeted advertising, creating significant legal and reputational exposure for Meta and potential safety risks for children.
Meta's policy authorizes collection of an exceptionally broad range of personal data — including location, biometric features, financial information, browsing history across third-party sites, and sensitive inferences about health and political views — primarily to serve targeted advertising. Non-users who have never created a Meta account are also subject to data collection when they visit sites using Meta's tracking tools such as the Meta Pixel. You can review and limit off-platform tracking by visiting Facebook Settings > Your Facebook Information > Off-Facebook Activity and clearing or restricting that data.