How Facebook Is Getting Creepier by the Minute

I’m an active Facebook user. I love to share photos with family and friends. I’ve created lists that limit what people can see depending on my relationship with them. My Close Friends can see all, but my Acquaintances, Coworkers, and certain family members cannot. I don’t check-in at places via Facebook because I’d rather not have people know my whereabouts always. Even though I’m on Facebook, I value a certain degree of privacy.

It’s no secret that Facebook is becoming increasingly aggressive with their advertising capabilities. Their ad platform started out as minimal Newsfeed and Right Column ads. They’ve since added placements within Instant Articles and on their Audience Network, extending their ads’ reach to partner mobile apps and websites. Facebook’s Ads Manager now includes placing in Instagram’s Newsfeed and Stories. As the social media site’s real estate is growing, so are its users’ concerns regarding their violation of privacy.

After reading Facebook’s Ad Education page, which explains the inner workings of their ad system, it’s scary to learn how Facebook is utilizing various data points to gather a plethora of extremely personal information. They then use those private details to sell advertising. Auctioning off every aspect of your life. The education portal also goes into why we see the ads we do on Facebook, Instagram and partner sites. Curious as to what data points Facebook is using to target ads to you?  Check out the full list here.

Facebook is tracking your every move. Including when you visit a page with a “like” or “share” button. Redefining what it means to be a stalker.

It’s constantly asking you to update where you work, where you live, and so on allowing them to continue to remain a competitively precise advertising network.  

The social media site continues to raise its creeper status. It’s now tapping into your phone contacts to generate friend recommendations under their People You May Know section. The best part is, it only takes one user to add the contact in their phone to trigger the suggestion. Both parties don’t have save each other’s numbers for you to show up. But don’t fret. It’s more likely to suggest someone you’ve recently added to your contacts rather than someone whose number you’ve had saved for years.

Remember that nifty Find Friends Nearby feature Facebook enabled back in 2012? It was created to help you discover new Facebook friends who were physically nearby. I remember receiving push notifications informing me that a Facebook friend of mine (who I hadn’t talked to or seen in a year or so) was near me. I was then worried as to who Facebook was sharing my location with. Facebook later disabled this feature due to complaints from startups who offered similar services. Thank goodness for competition!

It’s nearly impossible to stay informed on their policy changes since they’re constantly updating them and shifting site alliances. This leads to customer confusion and results in us sharing more information than we realize.

Here are some tips to keep as much of your personal information private, hindering Facebook’s ability to violate your privacy.


  • Clear your searches frequently
  • Don’t add your phone number to your profile
  • Don’t link any apps to your Facebook account




Have any more suggestions? Please include them in the Comments section below.

Comments

  1. recentgrad22June 25, 2017 at 5:57 AM

    From 2017RunnerGirl

    I really enjoyed this post. I think though some images accompanied with your tips at the bottom would help bring it to the next level. Sometimes I read articles with tips that make sense but I avoid jumping right to it, even with a link, if I feel intimidated by the process. A quick screenshot of the page it will bring you to or what to click on to change the settings would make it seem really easy and worthwhile of a change.

    ReplyDelete

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