I’ve been using Tor web browser for a day. It’s painfully slow. They do tell you which site is monitoring you. So far, FB Microsoft, and Tweeter turned up.
Another thought, would thay track your cellphone use? I could use the personal hotspot on the phone. Would that work?
@BunsenBurner Years ago I noticed that LinkedIn’s “people you may know” was unsettlingly accurate with random and obscure connections. Much of the buzz – rightfully so – is about FB and Google, but LinkedIn is very much a big brother as well.
Did someone mention me and my shadow? It seems very thorough.
https://myshadow.org/self-doxing-exploring-you-visible-data-traces
@intparent sometimes in 2015 they stopped that, but until then if someone took a quiz, any of their friend’s info that they had access to, the app also had access to.
The big data “theft” in question here happened prior to that change, and that’ show 70K survey takers resulted in 50 million people’s data, or whatever the specific numbers were.
For a long time I unfriended (actually what I did was put them in a friend group similar to what is now called “Acquaintances” and did not allow them to see anything I did on FB) people who played games or posted surveys for that reason.
I also shut down my FB account several years ago and opened a new one with a fake name. That’s a violation of their TOS, but that’s a two way street and I am ethically fine with it.
PS: I also blocks ads, including FB ads (via 2 Chrome add-ons) , AND have an add-on that blocks trackers from other web sites. All of these on my computer, not my phone.
AdBlock, Disconnect, Facebook Ad Blocker
If they know your IP address, which they do, does fa ake name help?
Can someone show a source that says apps/quizzes that don’t ask for your data are scraping your data when you take a quiz? Ignoring what my friends are doing for a moment. For many years, I think FB has required quizzes/apps to ask before they “access your data”. I’ve seen that question for years. Many people just cavalierly say yes to that term (Farmville, What Word Do You Use Most, etc) — THAT is what I understand is getting their data (and then their friend’s data scooped up). I work in IT — I really want to see a source saying that apps exist now or in the past where a user takes a quiz, and it scrapes your data beyond FB name and your answers to questions when they have NOT asked to access your user data.
I went and looked at the Apps I’ve given access to FB data. Instagram — that is it. I’ve never once given access other than that. I believe my data may be compromised because my friends give the data access, and the apps then scrape me to some extent. But I don’t buy that taking a quiz that does not request access puts you (or your friends) at risk.
Show me info that proves otherwise — I don’t think I’ve seen it yet. I think there is a lot of panic (some justified), but a muddy understanding of what is risky behavior and what is not.
Sidetrack: You know those odd emails you get occasionally from acquaintances that have nothing but a cryptic link? I never connected (so far), since fortunately I can usually spot them quickly. Nearly all (so far), have come from people I haven’t connected with, in many many years. In fact, most of them aren’t even in my current address file, and are definitely not connected in anyway on Facebook. How the heck does that happen? How do the perpetrators get those names and emails?
My IP address is shared by subscribers of my internet provider when I am home, when I am away it’s my cell provider etc. My phone is much more “open” than my home computer, and when I visit sites on my computer they often think I am in the nearby city that my internet provider is in.
FB may have figured out who I am anyway - I am friends with my family most of whom use their real names.
Some practical advice on how to control at least some Facebook snooping.
https://www.seattletimes.com/business/before-you-deletefacebook-try-taking-control-of-your-account/
From the article BB posted:
“One other thing: stop clicking “like” on other sites: doing so shares data with Facebook about where you are and what you are doing. Your choices are not anonymous.”
Good to know. I won’t be clicking “like” on here anymore.
I like your post, @emilybee 
Back atcha’ BB!
I don’t know why people say we knew what we were signing up for. I didn’t know if they were going to track you outside FB and identify you. I didn’t know FB would know when I was traveling even if I don’t post anything about the trip. I didn’t know FB would identify me and know I frequently visit College Confidential. FB reached over beyond the normal range of privacy invasion.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/apples-tim-cook-calls-more-040857587.html
Igloo- somewhere you posted some hint about your trip.
FB, they’re good. I have never posted a photo of myself or kiddos. Don’t list my town. Never comment on politics at all not even once. Don’t link to anything political or non academic. AND yet, my town is having an upcoming vote and they have been flashing a banner on my web site regarding the vote ( and it is the way I would vote). This is strange as I am in the minority on this. Even stranger, most of the folks in my town are all D/R. So I don’t know are they flashing this to everyone in the town? A while back I read that they can tell your political persuasion. I checked mine. It was off 100% ( maybe because many friends are different) I unchecked boxes so they had less data. Got to keep checking them. They are insidious!
They can track your location when you are on FB (it is by default unless you turn it off).
While we probably don’t know all the specifics, the safe assumption is everything you do online is tracked, recorded, and analysed. You have no privacy on line.
No I did not. I haven’t post in FB for ages. I hardly login. They also know I have an eBay account although I use a different email Yahoo for FB Microsoft for eBay. Do Google, Microsoft, Fb all exchange their pools of data? I think they also know I am on CC a lot. They list I am very interested in colleges and universities.
I have my location off everywhere except in the map. Now, I turned it off too when not using. I deleted FB and messenger apps from the phone. I think they track you even off FB. I certainly didn’t sign onto that when I opened the FB account. Did FB make it clear they will track me on and off FB and come up with an identifiable profile of me? If they did and I still signed up, it’s on me. Otherwise, they are a sneaky creepy ■■■■■■■ and deserve to roast in hell. I am taking measures. I may delete my FB account. I also set Duck Duck Go my default search engine following @greenwitch 's recommendations.
@Iglooo , you said earlier that this is how FB knew you had returned from a trip.
Can you be more specific? Where in Ad Preferences did it say that? That doesn’t make sense. When I view Ad Preferences in Facebook Settings, it isn’t formatted in such a way as to mention things like that.
The browser add-on I use is called DISCONNECT and it prevents little facebook tracking scripts which are all over - likely on ebay, etc - from running.
Ironically, I had to disable my ad-blocker to read that Seattle Times article, which then generated 20+ tracking requests (which Disconnect blocked) 