Do you have a facebook?

[markNine]

Corsair would have worked better.

[Phasen]

Yeh search for Ryan Parmer thats me

[Cupz]

Have you deleted your facebook yet?

[Mexicola]

Not yet

[2020k]

Not yet

[Josh]

Yes. Almost 5 years ago now. It's somewhat encouraging how several friends, family and co-workers who once called me paranoid and anti-social simply for not being on FB are now starting to admit I might've been right.

[Cupz]

It's somewhat encouraging how several friends, family and co-workers who once called me paranoid and anti-social simply for not being on FB are now starting to admit I might've been right.

Haha, same here. Soon (if not already) we can play the told-ya-so-card

#deletefacebook

[Mexicola]

From the Facebook Purity page:

Regarding the current news about the Cambridge Analytica Facebook user data breach, FB Purity was warning its users about the problem with Facebook applications stealing their data back in 2010! (see: https://www.facebook.com/notes/fluff-busting-fb-purity/important-facebook-privacy-issue-your-friends-applications-and-their-developers-/10150156651570171/ )
If you value your privacy and still want or need to use Facebook. Here's a list of some of the things you can do to protect it:
1) Ditch the Facebook (and Messenger and any other Facebook owned apps, Instagram, Whatsappp etc) mobile phone apps, they basically have complete access to anything you do on your phone, and tracks everything you do, suck up all your contact info, tracks you with GPS etc etc. Its safer to use the mobile website versions of those sites sucha as http://m.facebook.com in your mobile's web browser.
2) When browsing Facebook on a desktop web browser make sure you have a tracker blocking browser extension such as Disconnect , Privacy Badger or Ghostery installed, as this will stop Facebook tracking all the websites you visit in your web browser. The way Facebook tracks which sites you visit is via the ubiquitous "like" button widgets that website owners include in their web pages. Facebook even tracks non Facebook users in this way and creates what are known as "shadow" profiles.
3) Never use the "Facebook" sign-in method to login to other websites. Those websites get access to some of your Facebook data when you do this.
4) To make sure Facebook applications by third parties cannot access any of your or your friends data, turn off the "Facebook Platform" in Facebook's settings on the following page: https://www.facebook.com/settings…
To do this, go to the section titled
"Apps, Websites and Plugins" , click Edit and then change the setting to disable "Facebook Platform"
5) If you don't want to completely turn off the "Facebook Platform" as you still want to use certain Facebook applications or Facebook sign-in, you should go through the "App settings" at https://www.facebook.com/settings… and remove any Facebook apps that you no longer use, and also go to the section titled "Apps others use" and untick all the boxes there (This will stop apps your friends use from getting your data even if you yourself are not using the apps)
6) Review and edit your Facebook privacy settings at https://www.facebook.com/settings/…
7) Review the advertising profile Facebook has built for you at https://www.facebook.com/ads/preferences/… ( the F.B. Purity browser add-on lets you easily delete the list of Interests and Advertisers Facebook has generated for you) Its also worth reviewing the other settings on that page, such as the "ads based on your usage of websites and apps" setting, which basically means you will be shown ads related to websites you have visited, also important is the "ads with your social actions" setting, that basically means if any Facebook Page you have "liked" creates a Sponsored ad on Facebook they can use your name at the top of their ad to endorse their Advert.
This is an extreme one and against Facebook's terms and conditions but its better not to include any of your real information on Facebook, better to put fake information in there, including your name and address, birth date etc.
Of course if you really value your privacy the best thing is to stop using Facebook altogether, delete all the data on your Facebook account and then delete your account, though I don't think it will stop Facebook from keeping a "shadow" profile on you, and who knows if they really ever delete your data, there was certainly some news articles in the past on just that topic where Facebook was holding on to data it shouldn't have been.
What do you think of this list? Got any other Facebook privacy tips you would like to share, add them in the comments!

[Cupz]

Awful lot of work to read a bunch of brainfarts from people you barely know.

[A_Northern_Soul]

Surely we all *knew* this was the type of thing went on? It has always happened, always will, regardless of the platform. I don’t pay to use Facebook- it’s quite obvious that my information is the product on sale.

Will I delete my account? Probably not - the convenience and ability to communicate with others outweighs the risk.

[Mexicola]

Agreed and judging by my Facebook feed this morning, most seem to be carrying on regardless.

I'm still pouring over the articles to find something that makes me want to delete. Something I didn't already know, or at least suspect. I'm struggling to find the revelation. I recall being shocked about this a few years ago, but not now. We already knew about and accepted that trade-off years ago, surely?

It's not the data mining or even how it was used that's the revelation. It's that people largely accept it that's the bigger story. Facebook will take a hit, some will leave. But I suspect many will return, most won't leave to begin with. Some will tinker with privacy settings, be more careful what they post or how they use the platform. But I suspect in a year's time Facebook will continue to be the behemoth it is now. Too many people rely on it.

[Negamuse]

I agree. I had a rant on Twitter about this this morning. None of this is really news to anyone who exercised a bit of healthy paranoia and/or read the terms they were clicking on, this was always possible. But I don't think it absolves Facebook at all... if 99% of your users don't read the terms and tweak their privacy filters, then that's the ecosystem and they should have acted way sooner to stop people signing away things they didn't understand the consequences of.

[Gazebo4]

I think a minority of users indeed already knew in a way that something like this was happening, just not exactly how their data was being misused. The vast majority is ignorant and probably doesn't really care anyway.

However, I honestly think it should not be underestimated in what way a person can be manipulated by being spoon fed with filtered information to shape a person's perception of the world in a way the mass/social media wants you to. To divide people and set groups of people against each other, ie. fearmongering. And the thing is, people gladly participate.

If you don't think you are being manipulated, think again. We are living in the Information age and we are being bombarded with information, every minute of the day, everywhere. Having access to so much information is really cool and all, but it comes at a price as there is a lot of misinformation as well. And because of individuality and having an opinion is so @%^# "important" nowadays, everyone and their mother has an opinion about something and looks for answers 'out there', where it certainly cannot be found. The divide and conquer tactic of mass/social media, politics and religion works really well, as we can see in the world today.

If you can be told what you can see or read, then it follows that you can be told what to say or think.

[Mexicola]

Agree, but 'twas ever thus' no?

[Gazebo4]

I don't know, I'm inclined to say more and more people are waking up, yet at the same time technology amplifies all madness caused by humans. It's interesting times for sure.

[Cupz]

Agree, but 'twas ever thus' no?

This mentality is totally not the reason why it took so long for slavery to be abolished. /sarcasm

I will never get why people stick to what they know for the sake of it being what they know. Not even when they are spending all their days in the middle of an active volcano.

[Mexicola]

Good point Cupz but you've always been a target market. I'm aware of this every time I log onto Facebook, watch TV, or read a newspaper. I accept the trade-off.

That said, when Trump gets elected....

[Torn n Frayed]

I don't know, I'm inclined to say more and more people are waking up, yet at the same time technology amplifies all madness caused by humans. It's interesting times for sure.

You ain't seen nothing yet, just wait till they roll out 5g and microwave the 'hit outta us..

[Cupz]

just wait till they roll out 5g and microwave the 'hit outta us..

This is a good point, but not because of the microwaves (we're already cancering ourselfs up plenty), but because the facebook of tomorrow is not going to be the facebook of today. If you're not impressed by facebooks ability to acquire and manipulate userdata now on this shitty 4g network, just wait another year or two when they open up a whole new spectrum of bands to near lightspeed internet anywhere on the planet, and facebook gets rid of its "delete my account" page that is already pretty hard to find (or redefine what "delete" means). Did I mention you're spending your days in an active volcano yet?

[Josh]

It's somewhat encouraging how several friends, family and co-workers who once called me paranoid and anti-social simply for not being on FB are now starting to admit I might've been right.

Haha, same here. Soon (if not already) we can play the told-ya-so-card

#deletefacebook

I can't in good conscience play the told-ya-so card since I rely heavily on Google and Amazon for a lot of stuff. Those companies are just as bad as FB, possibly worse, so it would be hypocritical of me to say I'm above it all. I quit FB because I found it relatively easy to do so. Others rely on it, and as I said, I'm not really in position to judge. Part of me wishes I had the smarts and stubbornness of someone like Richard Stallman, but instead I merely donate a few dollars to the Free Software Foundation and that's about it.