Facebook will start telling users which websites track them across the web

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Mark Zuckerberg testifies before the House Energy and Commerce Committee in the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill April 11, 2018.

Facebook said Tuesday it will start telling users which websites track them across the web — and offer them the option to delete the personal data from their accounts.

The social media site collects information on Facebook users and non-Facebook users from third party websites that use Facebook’s services, like the “Like” plug-in or Facebook “pixels,” which are pieces of code that track what people do off of Facebook.

The feature, called “Clear History” — which will roll out in upcoming months — will essentially let users see and clear the information Facebook knows about their browsing history.

“To be clear, when you clear your cookies in your browser, it can make parts of your experience worse. You may have to sign back in to every website, and you may have to reconfigure things. The same will be true here. Your Facebook won’t be as good while it relearns your preferences,” CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a post to his personal account.

“But after going through our systems, this is an example of the kind of control we think you should have,” he said. “It’s something privacy advocates have been asking for — and we will work with them to make sure we get it right.”

The new feature is another effort to give users more control over their data in response to widespread data mishandling by research firm Cambridge Analytica.

The firm was accused in recent months of improperly accessing the personal user data of as many as 87 million Facebook users. The allegations have set off a firestorm of governmental probes and privacy concerns — causing Facebook to publicly address and, in some cases, tweak its privacy policies.