latest scandal has caused many users to question whether they should pull the plug and delete their account in order to protect their private data.
But this may not be enough to keep Facebook, its advertisers, and so-called ‘vampire apps’, from tracking you across the web.
Facebook uses pieces of code – which include tags, pixels and cookies – to collect information and build up a profile of your digital self – even if you don’t have an account.
It also allows thousands of third-party ‘vampire apps’ to plug in to its social network and siphon off data from its users.
In response, many are choosing to manually remove permissions previously granted to individual apps – a time consuming process.
However, it remains unclear whether this will allow them to claw back data already shared via third-parties.
This means third-party apps may still have enough data to build up a digital profile of you, even if you have stopped using them.
CEO Mark Zuckerberg has since admitted Facebook ‘made mistakes’ leading up to Cambridge Analytica privacy breach, which has led to accusations the firm mismanaged user data.
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Facebook’s latest scandal has caused many users to question whether they should pull the plug and delete their account in order to protect their private data.(stock)
Facebook Audience Network
Facebook uses an advertising strategy called the to promote ads targeted to your browsing tastes.
It means brands can direct marketing messages to you based on your interests, even when you’re not on the site, via other company’s apps and mobile websites.
They can collect information ranging from your IP address to the websites you have visited, the length of time you spent on a website and in what sequence pages were accessed.
Facebook can use this information to track your activities across different websites, gaining insights into things like your location, age group, gender, and interests.
Facebook marketed its Audience Network as the ‘power of Facebook ads, off Facebook’ at the time of its launch in 2014.
The company is not alone in using targeted advertising and the many who do engage in it – including Google Ads Account Login and Apple – say they do so to ensure that the commercial messages you are exposed to online are relevant to you.
Vampire Apps
By connecting your Facebook profile to third party plugin apps found on the social network, many of which are from the same firms paying for targeted advertising, you’re also typically granting them permission to access your data.
That includes your name, profile picture, cover photo, gender, networks, username and user ID.
Some fear this may also include details like your IP address and other identifying information which can be used to track your online activities.
Facebook has since amended a policy which allowed third-party apps to access your friends’ data as well.
Some of the better known apps that may be connected to your profile include those of popular sites like Amazon, Buzzfeed, Expedia, Etsy, and Tinder.
You can check which apps your Facebook account is sharing data with by clicking