Facebook and its found Mark Zuckerberg are back in news for all wrong reasons. Early this week, the social media giant admitted that it did share its user data with a UK based data analytics firm named Cambridge Analytica which in-turn used the data to boost Trump presidential campaign on a positive note in US 2016 polls.
And as soon as this news broke out to the public (via media of course) most of them chose to delete their respective Facebook accounts- thinking that their move can help fend off privacy concerns.
But does this happen in reality? ‘No’ say some of the security analysts working for some noted cybersecurity companies. And that’s because Facebook uses pieces of codes like tags, pixels, and cookies to collect info and build up a user’s profile. Then it shares the data with thousands of third-party apps also known as ‘vampire apps’ which keep a track of all Facebook users with whom data is being shared.
Therefore, even if you delete your facebook account, there is a high amount of probability that Facebook’s third-party apps might still have enough data to build up a digital profile of users and use for covert operations. This includes your name, profile picture, cover photo, gender, networks, username, user ID, and all the IP addresses through which you access your Facebook account.
Some of the better-known apps which prey on Facebook users include Amazon, Instagram, Spotify, Buzzfeed, Expedia, Etsy, Tinder, Quora, many dating sites, and all such…
Note 1- Sometimes facebook users without knowing much about privacy use the same credentials of their facebook on third-party apps which makes it easy for online service providers to keep a track of you based on the usage of your login credentials. And in most cases, in order to avoid all the hiccups related to Fresh sign-ins, users of social media use their same social media account IDs to stay connected with the world.
Note 2- Thus, to all those concerned about privacy, here’s a link which helps you check which apps your facebook account is sharing data with by clicking here.
