We’ve all had days where we’ve talked about certain things and they magically appear somewhere on the internet. Even when we’re not browsing on the internet while having these conversations, we’ve seen ads pop out of nowhere. We’re also familiar with social media apps like Facebook and Instagram collecting our data and private information.
Well, these companies do say they use our data for advertisement purposes and other minor things. But have you ever wondered how it works exactly? Signal, an encrypted messaging app exposes how Facebook data collection works. And in simple words, it’s a wee bit concerning, to say the least.
Signal Shows How Facebook Collects User Data.
It is not a big secret that Facebook collects millions of data from its users. The company claims that this data is primarily used for advertisements. Which in turn becomes a source of income for Facebook. However, Facebook data collection is a much more complex issue than it seems. And the question is how far does it go?
In a blog post, Signal shared how Facebook is manipulating users’ data to their advantage. And if we as users could see the real picture, it could be much worse. Who wouldn’t creep out seeing ads that feel oddly too personal?
Facebook being a behavioral targeting company heavily relies on and collects user data for profit. It can track things like your IP address to the ads you’ve clicked, websites you’ve visited and how often, and many more. Just last week it was revealed that the company gave access to advertisers to target teenagers interested in things like extreme weight loss, smoking, and gambling.
In Facebook’s defense, they do have features to see how it collects data. And you can even turn off off-Facebook activities to protect your data. However, it doesn’t work completely and it can still track your activities on the app.
