How Does Facebook Know So Much About Me?

by EndGame

Posted: 14 years ago 14 replies

OFF TOPIC

Hi,

I am really interested/concerned that Facebook suggests friends to me, who I have no mutual friends with. I'll attempt to explain that in better English in the next couple of sentences....

I have a friend of mine, who is also a programmer and I do a lot of work with him. We use Googlemail to stay in touch. It's the only way we communicate online. We have no mutual friends on facebook and we have never communicated on facebook. My privacy settings are so high on there, he's probably struggle to find me.

With all that said, Facebook is recommending him as a friend to me. My question is, where is facebook getting that information from? I am really not comfortable with them having that level of info about my personal life, and I am quite keen to put an end to it, either via changing my settings in facebook or deleting my presence there altogether.

If anyone has any suggestions or knows the answers, I'd love to hear from you.

mariyin4347 14 years ago

Hi Guy, may I join with you?
Thanks for your kindness...
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- ThomM 14 years ago
  
  Your privacy settings stop other people from learning about you, not facebook.
  Also they will use any posting you have done there as criteria for friends suggestions.
  Even any searching you've done on that site.
  In other words, anything you do on facebook is used by facebook in determining who to suggest as friends or to show ads, etc.
  
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  ActionToCash 14 years ago
  
  Yeah, while Facebook is a cool service I am considering deleting me account for privacy concerns as well, and this thread only re-enforces my discomfort with privacy as well.
  
  I think I need to get my long lost friends' contact info and then delete my account there myself.
  
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HeySal

14 years ago

I'm also considering getting off of there - but not yet as I am building good contacts for my one niche -- and that is ALL I use facebook for.

I'm also not sure that they leave off harvesting data only from their own site. I posted here once that Kurt Vonnegut was my favorite author - the next time I signed in there, there were ads for Kurt Vonnegut books on my sidebar. That's just spooky. I have a feeling that there isn't anything we do online anymore that isn't harvested.

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Sal
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Helen Moore 14 years ago

Facebook is only one of the 'in your face' examples that ALL of our digital data is being stored. I know this is not a political site, but some facts are just facts. This 'right to store our data above our privacy rights' came about under the guise of the war on terror. Easy to research it. So, Sally, you're right about it all being harvested. Just by joining fb they have our agreement to allow them to search us 'for our best interest and find the right people/products for us'.

That said, the next best thing to do is get a good spybot search program and run it very regularly. (You can run it constantly, but it will really slow you down.) I do that and get many deleted each time. Yes, I'm on fb, too. Finally worn down by a good old friend to join--don't reveal much about myself, keep it silly and still considering getting out!
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seasoned

14 years ago

Originally Posted by HeySal

EVERYTHING is harvested, it is only a question of how it is tied together and why. Look at caprica, WE could be there in only a few years. ALL of it is supposedly doable now and much HAS been done to a degree ALREADY.

Steve

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HeySal 14 years ago

Was glad to let someone else say it, Helen. Every time I do tin foil hat screamers post forever afterward, LOL.

I use malware bytes - it's better than Spybot. I also use crap cleaner and it gets rid of most loaded cookies, etc.
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Sal
When the Roads and Paths end, learn to guide yourself through the wilderness
Beyond the Path
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bardman 14 years ago

Facebook is a tad scary. That's why I closed my account after two weeks when I joined 2 years ago. Now, I'm back - for biz reasons - and it's hard not to share personal info because then it looks like you're not really participating.
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AskScottOBrien 14 years ago

There is so many ways to use Facebook and get leads for your business or affiliate program for free... plus their ppc advertising is way cheaper than google and I get much better ROI with Facebook.

I suggest you set up a business account and strictly use facebook for business of you don't want a personal account. I have used Facebook for years and actually teach how to use Facebook in my training classes.
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Ben Bergmann 14 years ago

Just a possibility but I know that Facebook gives you the option to go through your email accounts to add friends that might be on Facebook. What if your friend, who happened to have you as a contact in his Gmail since you both use it to stay in contact, has used this function but didn't add you as a friend in the end. What if Facebook now know about this possible connection between you two, hence suggesting him as a friend?

Just a theory really.
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AskScottOBrien 14 years ago

That is a likely theory maybe? I am pretty sure they use keywords to suggest friends. If they see similar keywords in both profiles, like a town, similar interests, or even similar groups you belong to, they figure you have like interests and may want to become friends, they also go by similar friends. I know if you and another person both have similar friends, they will suggest that person as well.

They use keywords for their ppc ads too, which I like. The only person that should be seeing your ads on Facebook are people that Facebook feels may be intersted in that ad. For example... if you have an ad for a diet product, Facebook is going to look for people who have the keyword diet in their profile somewhere or a similar keyword... which is cool because you get a really targeted group seeing your ads.
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alanaj 14 years ago

TomM has it correct. The privacy settings are in place to protect you from other Facebook members, but not FB itself. Make sure you are completely signed out of your account before you do any searching online or visit other sites. Just because you don't have friends in common doesn't mean you don't visit the same sites.
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sarahberra 14 years ago

I just like to use Facebook to keep in contact with family. I like sharing pictures and keeping in touch. I guess it all depends on how you use it.
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AskScottOBrien 14 years ago

I do too... I use Facebook to keep in touch with family, friends and people I meet online through my websites or forums... plus I can find out more about what my kids are doing on Facebook than I can going in next room and asking them (LOL) I would rather people find me on my personal site than a business site. I like people knowing I'm a real person with a real picture.

I never use the Facebook friend suggestions either... I only have friends that I actually know and have a connection with. My privacy settings are set so only my friends can see my profile... and a never read my private messages or accept private chats in Facebook. People who know me, can email me or skype me or even call me : )
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