Facebook is Tracking Your Every Move on the Web

[Regolyth]

Facebook is Tracking Your Every Move on the Web; Here's How to Stop It

For quite some time now, Facebook's user tracking hasn't been limited to your time on the site: any third-party web site or service that's connected to Facebook or that uses a Like button is sending over your information, without your explicit permission. However, Winer noticed something mostly overlooked in last week's Facebook changes: Facebook's new Open Graph-enabled social web apps all send information to Facebook and can post to your profile or share with your friends whether you want them to or not.

Essentially, by using these apps, just reading an article, listening to a song, or watching a video, you're sending information to Facebook which can then be automatically shared with your friends or added to your profile, and Facebook doesn't ask for your permission to do it. Winer's solution is to simply log out of Facebook when you're not using it, and avoid clicking Like buttons and tying other services on the web to your Facebook account if you can help it, and he urges Facebook to make its cookies expire, which they currently do not.

That also means that when you visit another site with Facebook-enabled social applications, from Like buttons to Open Graph apps, even though you're a logged out user, Facebook still knows you're there, and by "you," we mean specifically your account, not an anonymous Facebook user. Cubrilovic notes that the only way to really stop Facebook from knowing every site you visit and social application you use is to log out and summarily delete all Facebook cookies from your system.

So~ yeah, creepy. Is Facebook the new NSA?

LOL *nervous laughter*

Additionally from a commenter...

Though I probably should be, I'm not that concerned by Facebook tracking me all over the internet. I assume I'm just a number to them, and my data gets lumped in with all the other user data.

However, this seems like yet another excellent reason to never log onto Facebook using a computer you don't own

[Morreion]

I've managed to avoid having a Facebook account. I'm not a huge social media type, I'm more stuck in the email/blog/desktop PC era I guess- yeah, I'm old!

One thing that bothers me over time is that people younger than myself don't seem to worry about privacy. For instance, in MMOs, you used to be able to log in /anonymous and have hidden alts if you so wished. Now, in the social media age, anonymity is a thing of the past and all your characters are identified with your account. Whatever happened to having options?

Is Facebook the new NSA?

Especially since the NSA revelations a year ago, I'm ticked off at being tracked. Companies do this with increasing boldness as well- for monetary reasons. Put me firmly on the side of wanting some privacy. Without even the option of privacy, I think we're headed to a bad place. With complete knowledge comes the possibility of control. I trust no one at the controls (government or company), because I understand human nature...I was going to bring up the myriad political scandals in existence at this time, but I'll pass on that for now.

[Oatik]

I don't have a facebook account either but I know my wife is telling the world what we are up to, which pretty much isn't a damn thing. Of course I have my phone broadcasting my location 24x7....

[Laethaka]

I've used facebook since 2004 but at this point I've desubscribed from so many people that I just get a compilation of official news updates and a couple friends/family. It's nice having stories from Washington Post, Camelot Unchained, Nuclear War Now Records, Zero Motorcycles, etc. all on the same page. But so yeah is that still 'social media'?

[Regolyth]

Jun 24, 2014 16:10:10 GMT -5 Oatik said:

Of course I have my phone broadcasting my location 24x7....

Yeah, it kind of goes with that one guy's comment. They (whomever they may be) know where we all area all the time, regardless. It's hard to get off the grid and be a normal, functioning person in today's society. So much is connected to everything else.

Interesting side story... my dad did get my birth certificate until I had to start public school (and got my brothers' at that point too). So I was five years old and the only people who knew I existed were those who saw me. My mom gave birth to myself and my siblings at home, so I could have been brought up to be some ninja with no record. LOL

[Morreion]

Wow, that would have been awesome! Rego off-the-grid, like some vigilante in the City of Gotham!