Users can now delete information passed to Facebook by other companies

Facebook users can now see, and delete, information passed by other companies to the social media giant.

This can be done through 'Settings' and the 'Off Facebook Activity' portal.

This includes data such as sites visited, registrations to sites and if purchases were made.

Users allow for this to happen when accepting the 'cookies' on various websites.

Off-Facebook activity is a summary of activity that businesses and organisations share with the company about interactions - such as visiting their apps or websites.

They use tools such as Facebook Login or Facebook Pixel to share this information.

When users review their activity, they will see a summary which includes their activity on other apps and websites.

They may see information such as how Facebook received their activity, the number of interactions (such as opening an app, logging into an app with Facebook, viewing content, etc) and activity from data service providers and marketing agencies.

However Facebook says this activity that is not related to any actions users have taken.

The company says: "Some activity in your summary may include updates from an app or website that aren't related to an action you've taken. We'll show you the date we received the updates.

"Keep in mind, not all of your activity will show in your off-Facebook activity.

"For example the summary doesn't contain your most recent activity.

"It may take a few days for your activity to show in your off-Facebook activity.

"For technical and accuracy reasons, we don't show all the activity we've received.

"This includes things like information we've received when you're not logged into Facebook, or when we can't confirm that you've previously used Facebook on that device."

"We also don't show details like the item you've added to your shopping cart."

In some circumstances, Facebook says it may disconnect users off-Facebook activity from their account "for technical reasons."

"When this happens, the activity that has been disconnected will not be used to show you ads."

It says Off-Facebook activity is used to show users more relevant ads, suggest groups or events and discover new businesses.

Facebook adds: "We don't sell your information to anyone.

"We prohibit businesses or organisations to share sensitive information with us, such as health and financial information, your date of birth and passwords.

"If we determine that a business or an organisation is violating our terms, we will take action against that business or organisation."

Additional reporting: Jess Kelly