With over 1 billion users worldwide, Facebook has accumulated a lot of information about its users. While the social media giant has constantly battled its users over privacy concerns, we as users should remember that Facebook has only what WE provide to it. This is called user-generated content.
From the moment a user registers for a personal Facebook timeline, Facebook has begun to accumulate simple information like first names, surnames, birthdates, and email addresses.
Similar to a baby’s first steps, once registered Facebook users begin populating their profiles with in-depth information and personal details. While not a requirement, Facebook allows users to update their profile with favourite movies, graduation dates, wedding announcements, and family members. Furthermore, information about a user is collected when users post status updates, online casino nederlandsegokken upload vacation photos, interact with friends, play games, and “like” Facebook pages of relevancy.
Now for the other side of the coin: Information is collected about users when OTHERS share information about you. Do you remember the last time you were tagged in a photo, or checked-in by a friend – that’s all information Facebook knows about the user and his or her friends.
Just in case you were curious, there are a few more ways Facebook collects information about you…. Facebook tracks a user’s search queries, including visits to other personal timelines and pages. Remember the last time you uploaded a photo while on a road trip? Facebook recognizes the date, time, and new IP address from which you uploaded your photo.
The Facebook platform is a closed-search loop, and is constantly collecting and curating your information for advertisers. With the introduction of Facebook Graph, I suspect Facebook urging users to update and complete their profiles. As a marketer, I appreciate the depth of information that people freely include in their Facebook personal timeline. Personally, my profile is complete, but information is kept to a minimum.
To read more about Facebook”s Data Use Policy, click here.