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How do I stop third-party apps from accessing my Facebook data?

Stop third-party apps from accessing Facebook data?
It's time to take out the apps

The Cambridge Analytica scandal might be yesterday’s news, but your Facebook information is still shared with “trusted” companies without your approval. Luckily, there’s a very easy way to stop that from happening. Here’s how to stop third-party apps from accessing your Facebook data.

First, head to the Facebook settings page and select the “Apps and websites tab” from the left-hand menu.

Stop third-party apps from accessing my Facebook data

Once that’s done, scroll down to the Preferences sub-heading and click the Edit button in the “Apps, websites and games” box.

The following pop-up will then appear…

If you’re happy to lose the features outlined in the bullet points, click the blue Turn Off button. Tada, your Facebook data will no longer be accessed by third-party apps.

In the pre-scandal days, you would have also had to worry about companies accessing your information via your friends, but Facebook seems to have learnt that lesson…

Final steps to block third-party apps from accessing your Facebook data

However, you may not be finished yet. The steps above will prevent apps harvesting your data in the future, but you may have already handed over your details willingly in the past. 

To double-check, navigate back to the top of the “Apps and websites” section of the settings. There will be a list of “apps and websites that you’ve used Facebook to log in to and have recently used”. You can either click on the website/app to see what information they hold or, and this would be our recommendation, remove them entirely.

Unfortunately, deleting a third-party app or website in this way doesn’t necessarily mean that it will immediately bin your data. As Facebook warns, you may need to get in touch with the developer directly to remove the details.

READ NEXT: How do you secretly read Facebook messages?

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Max Figgett

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