Facebook to stop allowing data brokers such as Experian to target users

Company to shut down Partner Categories feature to 'improve people's privacy' but analysts question potential impact of change

Facebook is shutting down a feature that allowed "data brokers" such as Experian and Oracle to use their own reams of consumer information to target social network users, the company has announced.

The feature, known as "Partner Categories", will be "winding down over the next six months", Facebook announced in a terse blogpost. The company says the move "will help improve people's privacy on Facebook."