5 Ways Facebook Invades Your Privacy (and How to Stop It)
While it's well known that Facebook collects a tonne of user data, the social network also regularly invades your privacy.
Mark Zuckerberg, the creator, and CEO of Facebook has declared in the past that privacy is no longer a “social norm”—and he continues to live up to that promise. Facebook is a fantastic way to stay in touch with friends and family, but it also raises privacy issues for users.
Many people are unaware of the numerous ways Facebook violates our privacy daily, from its continually changing privacy settings to gathering personal information via third-party applications.
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In this article, we list a few instances in which Facebook violates our privacy and, more importantly, how to stop it.
1- Facebook Uses Facial Recognition
Using your facial traits in pictures or videos, facial recognition technology may recognize you. Facebook makes use of this technology to alert you whenever you ought to be mentioned in a picture or a video.
While I was categorizing my wedding images, I became aware of this scenario. Facebook started to propose tags for me after I tagged the first wedding party picture in our wedding album. Not only did it advise that I tag everyone, but it also recognized each person's identity.
You'll be relieved to learn that you may disable this function if it disturbs you.
How to Turn Off Facebook Facial Recognition
To change your facial recognition settings on Facebook:
Click the small triangle icon in the top-right corner of your Facebook news feed page.
Select Settings & privacy then Settings.
Click the option on the sidebar for Facial recognition.
You may decide whether you want Facebook to be able to identify you in images here.
It is disconcerting that some users could not aware that their faces are being electronically identified by a social networking program, even though we have the power to change this setting.
Whether we wanted it to or not, Facebook has taken a picture of each of our faces and used that to identify us.
2-People Can Follow You Without Your Knowledge
Friends lists are not the only method to connect with people on Facebook. You most likely have a list of individuals who are “following” you if your profile is set to public.
Some of these folks could be acquaintances, while others might be total strangers. They only need to follow you to see everything you publicly post; they don't even need to add you as a friend.
Because many Facebook users may not have their Facebook settings safeguarded, this function is alarming. As a result, their timeline posts are likely visible to a list of unidentified followers.
How to Check If People Are Following You on Facebook
To see if you have followers on your timeline:
Go to your Facebook Profile
Select Friends, then click on Followers. Your followers will be listed here.
By adjusting your privacy settings so that only your friends can view the stuff you are sharing, you may remove followers from your list.
To only allow your Facebook friends to follow you:
Click the small triangle icon in the top-right corner of your Facebook news feed page.
Select Settings & privacy then Settings.
On the sidebar, click on the Public Posts tab.
Under Whom Can Follow Me, select the Friends option.
3- Pending Friend Have Access to Your Posts
Have you ever received a Facebook friend request but weren't sure if you wanted to accept it?
It's advisable to decide promptly because the sender can view your profile posts if a friend request is left pending.
You avoid privacy violations, make sure to respond to any pending friend requests.
How to Accept or Reject Friend Requests
To view your Facebook friend requests:
Select the Friends icon on your Facebook news feed.
Select Confirm or Delete on each friend request to clear them.
4-Third-Party Apps Collect Information About You
Your Facebook games and applications are not as harmless as you would believe. Facebook gives third-party apps access to your data, as well as information about how you use the internet.
Data breaches can be challenging to find since these applications frequently keep their data on a server that is not connected to Facebook.
However, Facebook also receives additional information about you through third-party applications, groups, and companies. Facebook then utilizes information about your offline activities to show you relevant ads.
How to Change Off-Facebook Activity Sharing
To see which third-party applications share your information with Facebook:
Click the small triangle icon in the top-right corner of your Facebook news feed page.
Select Settings & privacy then Settings.
Click the Your Facebook Information setting on the sidebar.
Go to the Off-Facebook activity.
From here, you can view which third-party applications and services share your activity with Facebook.
You can edit the settings for each app by clicking on the relevant icon.
When you sign in to an app using your Facebook profile, it's important to be cognizant of the access you're giving
To get more control over your profile data, make sure to read up on how to prevent third-party apps from accessing your social media data.
5- Facebook Can Control Your Profile After You Die
Do you ever consider what would occur to your Facebook account in the event of your death? Your information stays with Facebook if you die away without appointing someone to manage your account.
Because of this, it's crucial to choose a legacy contact who will manage your account if something were to happen to you. Additionally, they can change your Facebook profile into a memorial page where friends and family can send you supportive notes and express their condolences.
How to Select a Facebook Legacy Contact
To select a legacy contact on Facebook:
Click the small triangle icon in the top-right corner of your Facebook news feed page.
Select Settings & privacy then Settings.
Select the General tab.
Under Memorialization Settings, you can decide a friend to be your legacy contact by typing in that trusted person's name.
Your legacy contact should be someone very close to you, such as a partner or sibling.
Take Control Over Facebook Privacy Breaches
Facebook does have options accessible so that you may protect yourself, although they aren't always transparent about the potential privacy invasion scenarios that their site provides.
You should always check your privacy settings to make sure no new choices have been introduced and that the ones you previously selected are still in place whenever Facebook upgrades its platform.
It is ultimately your responsibility to protect your personal information. Keep up with any updates to Facebook's privacy policies to learn how they may affect your personal information.